Ngala – the senseless death of a rhino

Lions. Found ’em at Ngala Private Game Reserve. 7 of them – 4 lionesses (one heavily pregnant) and 3 adult males. The pack of seven separate into one dominant male with two lionesses, and other dominant male with the other two. One old battle-scarred male moves with the second group, but seems to be waiting for a mishap to befall the dominant male before trying his luck.

I’ve realised this morning that I have the ‘A’ team in Norman the tracker and Elliott the guide. Both are experienced trackers, and find the seven lions long before anyone else arrives on the scene. It makes for some great viewing at the waterhole, and later on a catwalk parade of lions move in front of the vehicle on their way to find somewhere to nap through the heat of the day.

Later in the morning, we are tracking a second pride that have young cubs. We don’t find more than their tracks, but in searching for them we follow a large number of vultures descending from flight. Assuming that it is the lions with a kill, we happen upon the saddest of scenes – a rhino has been shot last night and butchered for it’s horns. Now a feast for the vultures and hyenas, it highlights the plight of rhinos in Africa – poachers have been brazen enough to venture into a patrolled private game reserve and kill this poor animal. There is no point blaming the poachers – they won’t see more than a few rand of the $US65,000 per kilo paid. It needs to be stopped at the source of the demand – those who think there is some medicinal or aphrodisiac quality to rhino horn. Take away the demand, and the supply naturally disappears.

I’d put a warning on the following photos and videos that they may be distressing to view, but you know what? We SHOULD be distressed by the scene of rhinos butchered for their horns.

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