Rhino Orphanage Support
Currently Kwa Zulu Natal is facing its sternest test to protect and save Rhino from indiscriminate poaching that has increased dramatically in the past 2 years and now coming out of the pandemic it is more serious than ever. In addition to help saving the rhinos by dehorning or relocating, there is inevitably casualties left behind, the baby rhinos whose mothers are killed for their horn.
Here we support two orphanages – Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park possibly the most important wild population in the world and the source of all southern white rhinos alive today and the Zululand Rhino Orphanage. The HiP one being government is closed to the public and run without real publicity and is for orphans from any Ezemvelo reserve – which also makes it the one that often needs the most support. The Zululand private one houses any orphans from poaching in KZN that is not from an Ezemvelo reserve. However, they are also currently putting together an MOU so that any very small rhinos needing specialised attention will be taken in and then return to its original reserve once a bit older for rehabilitation. Both these orphanages have successfully raised and released both black and white rhinos into the wild from being absolutely traumatised to settled and good. Considering this has never really been done before, it is quite a conservation success story.
We support these two by purchasing food for the orphans – milk, teff and lucerne – sometimes medicine. For the government one we actually buy the food and they collect it so no money changes hands – but the private one we put money into their trust as it is well managed and has excellent oversight.
