In the first week I spent everyday with the reserves two rhinos, Thabo and Ntombie. They are almost three years old and are under 24/7 surveillance due to the ever increasing problem of rhino poaching. It was a real eye opening experience as I would never have imagined that such powerful beasts could be so calm and gentle. They both have very different personalities. Thabo is a male and is a few months younger than Ntombie. He is a lot more curious, restless and playful than his other half and has really taken me by surprise. Ntombie likes to keep herself to herself, relaxing and eating as much as possible. She is considerable more hostile as well. I try to keep my distance from them both as although they show no signs of aggression towards me, a friendly nudge could put me on the floor. They are both very comfortable with their handler who sees to their wounds and de-ticks them on a daily basis.
Last year well over 400 rhinos were poached for their horn in South Africa alone and the northern white rhino became extinct in the wild very recently. Rhinos are the subject of the Lawrence's next book 'The Last Rhino' due out in April.
In this post are some pics of the biggest mammals on the reserve... elephants and rhinos. The elephants on the reserve are the subject of the book 'The Elephant Whisperer' by author and game reserve owner, Lawrence Anthony. It's a must read for anyone interested in elephants and African wildlife.
Anyway, here are some shots from my first week in the bush...
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| Frankie |
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| Ntombi |
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| Ntombi |
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| The Herd |
