Zululand Rhino Reserve - Black Rhino Range Expansion Project

Latest news
Theo Klagsbrun from the Tshwane University of Technology started his experiential training on the 19th July 2006- He will be assisting Karen & Dylan with General Management tasks.

Karen was invited as a guest speaker at the Eco-schools workshop at Ghost Mountain Inn on the 28th July, the presentation was about the Black Rhino Project on the Zululand Rhino Reserve. All the Principles from the Schools in area attended the workshop and we are hoping to get the School at the Manyoni community to also register as an Eco-school.

Special Thanks
Ryan Vivier for dealing with the fence inspection
Clive Vivier and Struen Murless for dealing with the Buffalo project
Koos Smit for keeping a close eye on the Elephant Bull with a sore foot

4th          White rhino Bull with Cow and 2year old calf was seen at Mkuze Nyala below Mbulungwane.
5th         Caracal at Abu Madi
6th         Nyala ewe chewing on bones at Leopard Mountain
6th         White Rhino Bull at Kido Bush camp
6th         Long Horn White rhino Cow and calf seen at Timmy Moodley close to Chaos boundary
6th         Elephant Bull with collar on Abu Madi
6th         Two Blacked backed Jackal @ Abu Madi
8th         Kudu cows eating Euphorbia ingens (Common Tree Euophorbia) Abu Madi
9th         Breeding herd of females sighted at Iqina
8th         Giraffe chewing on bones at Iqinq
10th       Kudu Bull sighted with 10 females at Leopard Mountain
10th       Spotted Hyena at Iqina
10th       White Rhino Bull at Malachite
11th       White Rhino Adult Bull with 2sub-adult bulls at Chaos
11th       White Rhino Cow (luto Pondo) at Leopard Mountain
12th       Troop of baboons, sighted at Nyamazeneni, female baboon was carrying a long peace of a Tree Euphorbia with her, and she was also chewing on it.
13th       Kudu Bull seen with seven cows at Leopard Mountain
15th       Two White rhino cows where seen with calves younger than three months at Chaos
15th       Nyala ewe with growth on left side of face – Abu Madi
20th       Giraffe baby was seen at Iqina with a wet umbilical cord
21st       Troop of Baboons at Leopard Mountain
22nd      Kudu cow with a bone in her mouth at Kido
22nd      White rhino cow (luto Pondo) at Leopard Mountain
24th       Adult White Rhino Bull & Cow with female calf (class D)
27th       Elephant bull without the collar (bull 45) sighted at Bush camp dam at Tarfu Trust, his left front foot is sore it seems like he might have stood on a standard or a sharp object.
28th       A leopard killed a bushbuck male on Tarfu Trust close to the bush camp. A leopard in the area opposite Mr Smit’s house also took an impala ram
29th       Hyena spoor @ Abu Madi
29th       Aardvark Male was sighted at 22:30 at the Bush camp at Tarfu Trust
31st       Elephant Breeding herd was sighted at Iqina
31st       Elephant bull without the collar (bull 45) sighted at Bush camp dam at Tarfu Trust, his foot is still sore and he has been staying in the area for few days not moving around too much.

The days are getting warmer now and we are seeing more and more nyala offspring, hopefully we will be getting rain soon. F72 is still very alert and she won’t allow a good look at the calf but we think it might be a female. We had a great sighting at Quixote, F96 and M87 were seen mating and F91 was standing a few meters away. The bull climbed on top of F96 four times during the 3hour period, every time they move away from each other they would snort & squeal at each other. The male would stand for long periods of time curling his upper lip in the female’s direction trying to get her scent. After the forth attempt the female moved off and M87 walked around the area tracking the female. The other F 72 moved away every time they squealed and when they are quiet she became curious and came closer. Both the calf’s are healthy and in good condition. There are no major movements; most of the rhino stay within their range.

General
The Security staff had a good drill at Luthuli on the 27th. Mr M Ndlovu who works at November 1 received the ZRR employee of the month award.

The elephant bull without a collar has damaged his front left foot. Mr Smit picked this up on Thursday 27th. I had a good look at it and can see swelling around the foot. He is limping and keeping off that foot as much as possible. We will continue to monitor him.