While South Africa is losing its rhino, Uganda's are multiplying. Uganda has much to offer, making it difficult to decide what to do first.
After four days of white-water rafting, mountain-biking, horse-back riding and quad-biking in Jinja, I needed some relaxation. A four-day safari to Uganda's largest game park, Murchison Falls National Park, seemed like a good idea. Joining Kutunza Travel, I jumped at the extra of rhino tracking, which turned out to be a highlight of my visit. At the time, I was reading Project Horn by Carlos Carvalho. It's the story of a life-and-death struggle to fight a ruthless gang who are systematically wiping out rhino in northern Botswana. This is reminiscent of what is happening in South Africa, with 55 rhino poached by syndicates across the country this year. If current trends continue 163 will be killed by the end of the year. When I visited Uganda in December 2008, there were six rhino protected by a two-metre high electric fence at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to keep the animals in and poachers out. Since my visit, they have multiplied from six to nine. Critically endangered, the northern white rhino was once widespread across northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic. But today no more than 30 survive in the wild, confined to Garama National Park in the eastern DRC. Because of this, the Rhino Fund of Uganda was founded in 1997, dedicated to reintroducing white and black rhino to their former Ugandan hangouts. Kabira and Shereena arrived in Uganda from Solio Ranch in Kenya in 2001. The following year the Rhino Fund of Uganda and Ziwa Ranchers opened Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, a short detour from the route to Murchison. Later, four southern white rhino were introduced – Taleo, Bella, Kori and Moja. I wanted to walk with these prehistoric animals. We left Jinja as the sun rose over Lake Victoria. After a bumpy 120km, we reached the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary before setting off on a game-viewing vehicle on what was once a game farm. The 70km2 land is dotted with Barrusos palms, favoured by monkeys and elephants, the latter knocking the tree to dislodge the fruit. Locals also enjoy the fruit, which is apparently good for their teeth. Trackers had told our driver where to stop and, walking in single file, we whispered as we followed. We were uncertain of seeing the animals, despite 25 rangers and askaris monitoring the rhino 365 days each year. Ranger Charles Omugetum told us that rhino can travel 10km a day but the estimated average is 3km. Noticing us looking at fresh rhino poo, Charles told us the white rhino's diet consisted of twigs, sticks, bark, thorns and leaves. We passed carob trees and euphorbias and the dry air was filled with bird calls and cicadas. Ducking beneath branches, we entered a burnt area, our pace slowing as the guides held up their hands. Heart thumping, I glimpsed a grey shape through palm fronds. Could it be? We froze. We were five metres from one of the world’s most threatened species. Charles explained the way to tell the difference between the white and black rhino. "It's the mouth,' he said pointing at Kori. White comes from the Dutch word 'wijd', referring to the rhino's wide mouth. White rhino have a wide, flat, square mouth, suitable for grazing as opposed to black rhino that have a hook-lipped mouth, almost like the beak of a parrot. Although they're the same colour, the black rhino is far smaller. He added that another indication is that white rhino have a pronounced hump. Suddenly, two tons of muscle charged me, puffing and snorting. If you have any sense you, like me, would also dive behind someone with a rifle. Charles muttered a warning and the rhino returned to grazing the unappetising yellow grass. "That's Nandi," he whispered. "She's pregnant and due to calf around April." He told us Bella had a stillborn calf one year ago but is pregnant again and due to calf in November, and they suspect that Kori is also pregnant. "It's difficult to see when a rhino is pregnant, even just before giving birth." Slowly, other rhino emerged from the shrubs and head ranger Godfrey Lutalo explained that white rhino can live up to 40 years, although they may live longer in captivity. There used to be thousands of rhino in Uganda but numbers started dwindling in the 1960s. In the 1970s there were approximately 300 black rhino, divided between Murchison Falls in the west and Kidepo National Park in the north-east, with 120 white rhino in Ajai Wildlife reserve. Within little more than a decade both species were poached to extinction. With approximately 11 000 white and 3 500 black rhino left in the world, humans have persecuted these harmless animals for centuries. With rhino horn fetching R500 000/kg and a horn weighing four to five kilogram let's hope we do not succeed in hunting rhinos to extinction. If you go...
