Rhino calf 145th victim of poachers in KZN

AN INJURED rhino calf became the 145th rhino fatality in KwaZulu-Natal this year, after it succumbed to its brutal wounds yesterday.

Wildlife veterinarian Dave Cooper – who had been treating the animal – made the announcement on his Facebook page called Wild Vet, yesterday afternoon.

The animal had been hacked, leaving her face a bloody mess.

The 2-year-old female white rhino calf was found late last month in the Manzimbomvu area of the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo told The Mercury yesterday.

He also confirmed that the death toll currently stood at 145.

Cooper said: “It wasn’t her horrific facial mutilation that caused her demise, but the bullet wound that penetrated her spine. She seemed to be doing so well last week, eating and behaving normally and settled in with two other rhino for company. Her movements were easy and stable, the injuries as clean and as healthy looking as we could hope for. We were cautiously optimistic that she would make it.”

Cooper said that on a post-mortem examination, they could plainly see where the bullet had passed clean through a vertebra.

“At some point as she went about her normal daily movements, the vertebra shifted and placed pressure on her spinal cord. From walking freely and easily, we noticed her beginning to stumble as paralysis began to set in – and realised it was kinder to end the inevitable suffering.

“There was no more that she or we could do to avoid her becoming the latest statistic.”

Cooper said his team rescued the second orphan of the latest full-moon slaughter.

“When I saw the state of this 2-year-old, it was hard not to break down in tears. How anyone can let an animal suffer like this is beyond comprehension? And she’s been wandering around in agony for days.”

Shot but not killed, he said, she then had to endure numerous hacking blows to her face by her brutal attackers.

“She must have made a desperate run to escape with her horn, but the damage was so severe that I’ve had to remove it.” Cooper thanked environmental NGO Boots on the Ground for securing the valuable sponsorship of state-ofthe-art medical supplies to use on this and other rhino poaching victims.

“We are continuously learning better and less invasive ways to deal with these horrendous injuries. From the staff at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, and the rhinos in their care, thank you so much to everyone who has contributed,” he added.