Keeping Uganda’s Rhino Safe.
Recently the Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch located in
Nakasongola district of Uganda was a hive of activity as the 10 of the 15
rhinos underwent a makeover in order to secure their future. The sanctuary is
home to the only rhino in Uganda as part of a project to secure the reintroduced
rhinos and reintroduce rhino to Uganda’s national parks as Uganda lost its
remaining wild rhinos in 1983.
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| Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch |
After the first six
rhinos were translocated to Uganda in 2004 and 2005, a period of four years
elapsed before the first calf was born in March of 2008. Sadly this calf was stillborn to mother
Bella. In June 2009 the first healthy
calf was born and aptly named Obama.
There were two reasons he was named Obama, he made history by being the
first rhino born in Uganda in approximately 30 years and his mother hails from
the United States and his father from Kenya.
Subsequent to the first rhino’s birth, eight more were born at
regular intervals, with the last one on the 2nd of April 2014. This made the
sanctuary a true conservation success story for Uganda and opened the road to possible
reintroduction of Rhino into the national parks down the line. Of the nine
calves, three are male and six are female, making up a total of six males and
nine females at the sanctuary.
Mating has been ongoing, promising further additions to the
group. One interesting aspect that transpired, was the inter-calving interval
which is close to two-years, this very short interval can only be explained as
due to a safe environment and excellent grazing throughout the year.
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| Lots of planning went into the project to ensure a smooth delivery |
The recent work at the sanctuary was conducted by Rhino Fund
Uganda staff and rhino ecologist Dr Felix Patton, Uganda Wildlife Authority
Vets Atimnedi Patrick and Enyel Eric as well as Kenya Wildlife Services Vet
Lokool Isaac, Molecular Biologist Otiende Moses and their team.
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| Poor Malaika. The first 2 darts did not discharge but all went well in the end |
The procedure entailed sedating the rhinos so that
microchips could be implanted in both the horns and beneath their skin. Each
rice-grain sized chip carries a unique bar code. If a rhino was to get poached
and the horn recovered thousands of kilometres away in the Far East for
example, the chips could be scanned and matched to those under the skin of the
poached carcass to prove it was obtained illegally. This indisputable evidence
would then be used to convict the smugglers and traders involved.
Says Rhino Fund Uganda Executive Director Angie Genade,
“many poachers and traders of illegal rhino horn have escaped conviction due to
a lack of evidence that the courts would accept as beyond reasonable doubt.
Microchips help in creating the necessary evidence chain in a timely way as you
just need to scan the chip to get an immediate result.”
At the same time as micro-chipping, the team also collected
DNA samples from each of the remaining Rhinos in Uganda. “DNA is like a genetic
finger printing system as every rhino, much like humans also have a very unique
DNA pattern”
Dr Felix Patton, the conservation adviser to RFU explained. “DNA
is the same for an individual rhino whether it is extracted from its horns,
hair, blood or skin and, in fact, we collected samples from all these for each
of the rhinos we darted. The samples will be sent to an expert laboratory in
South Africa for DNA analysis and will become part of an Africa-wide database
of rhino DNA. Whenever a trader is arrested with rhino horn, the DNA can be
extracted and matched to a rhino on the database, similar to the way
fingerprints are, to provide further evidence of it being obtained illegally”
he said.
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| The team at work in Uganda |
To avoid breading problems in future the DNA will also be
used to determine which male is in fact the sire of those rhinos born at Ziwa
to ensure that no male is so dominant that there will be genetic problems in the
future.
The team also took the opportunity presented to notch those
rhinos caught which had no notches or modify those who’s weren't clearly
defined. This helps ensure accurate identification in the field for
observation. Most of the data is collected by unobtrusive field observation,
and the small V shape cuts in the ear margins of the rhinos greatly improve accurate
data collection and identification of the individual rhinos. This system is common practice in Africa to
collect data for dissemination and it’s also very helpful if incidence of
poaching occur as it identifies the individual Rhino.
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| Rhino conservation in Uganda |
Funding for the operation came from the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) Uganda Small Grants Fund with additional
assistance from the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Africa Rhino Programme.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a great concerted effort of like minded people and teamwork to secure the future of our rhinos. We applaud the various bodies and team members that combined their efforts to ensure the future of the rhino population in Uganda.
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| Many hands that deliver rhino conservation in Uganda |
Make sure to visit their website to learn more and follow
their updates on Facebook. Premier Safaris guest also visit the sanctuary as
part of their Murchison falls Itineraries in Uganda. Look out for the new mid-range
photographic Safaris in 2016 that will also include a stay at the sanctuary.
Photo credit - JL Uys Photography
CNN Inside Africa coverage of Uganda’s Rhino project: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/03/world/bringing-rhinos-back-to-uganda/
Some more photos of the Rhino conservation project by JL Uys
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| It takes a village to help a Rhino |
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| Ear Notching |
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| Sedated Rhino |
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