Nine Useful Facts about Rhino by Jane Flowers

Know what you are seeing on safari

African safari guides help to explain the wilderness area you are visiting. They are brim-full of facts about everything in their environment. However, they do not always know everything and even if they do, let’s face it - you are not going care about facts and figures when a black rhino is tearing around the bush looking for you.

What is the greatest threat to the rhino?

The greatest threats to the survival of rhino are humans who hunt them for their horn and sell them on for medicinal and ornamental reasons. The horn is made from a substance much like your own hair and finger nails but the Asian belief in magical properties has created such a huge market for the horn that the animals have been hunted close to extinction.

The two main species of Rhino in Africa

There are two main species of rhino in Africa. The white rhino is larger than the black rhino and is most often found grazing in open woodland. The black rhino prefers to eat the leaves and fruit from trees or aloes. It follows then that black rhino are most likely to be found in thickets and rough country.

How do you know which rhino you are looking at?

The white rhino is most often seen in small family groups, which stand around with their heads down. They have a placid way about them and will most often ignore you. You will notice that many black rhino have open ulcers or skin lesions which are caused by parasites. The black rhino throws its head up and to one side and when disturbed will often set off in shambling, circular run to try and identify where the threat is coming from.

What can you do if a rhino charges you?

If you are walking, the rhino of either species can be a danger to you, so you need to pay attention to your guide when he explains what to do if you are unlucky enough to face a rhino charge. Rhino can reach speeds of 40km per hour at full charge and humans are not likely to outrun one. You also need to know that when a rhino charges he is not pretending. It would be a very bad idea to start taking photos and hope the rhino will stop the charge. If the wind is in your favour, standing stock still can keep you safe as rhinos have very bad eye sight. The best option is to get into a tree and stay there until the rhino moves away. As John Forrest of the Zululand game capture team explained to me, "the thorns only hurt you when you when you try and climb down again!"

How can you tell if you are rhino territory?

Rhinos like to rub and scratch themselves to ease the itch from parasites. They will often choose a sturdy tree or a handy rock for this purpose. Rocks and trees can be used for generations by the rhino and they often have smooth areas and a worn track around the object. Rhino defecate in a midden and if you come across the scattered dung it is a sure sign that the midden is used often. At water holes, you will notice rhino tracks in the mud. Rhinos are dependent on water and will visit the pans daily.

 

Are there birds associated with rhino?

The red oxpecker eats insects and parasites such as ticks that hang in the folds of rhino. For a large animal, rhino can be very quiet in the bush. Very often, the presence of a rhino is given away by the calls of these birds. White egrets, also known as tick birds will also been seen around rhino.

What should I do if I see an unaccompanied rhino calf?

The best thing to do if you see an unaccompanied rhino calf is to back off. Young rhinos are capable of walking within three hours of birth but the mother rhino will often leave them alone under cover. However the mother will not be far away. When you see a calf with an adult, you will be able to tell which is white or which is black, as the young of white rhino walk ahead of the adult. The young of the black rhino walk behind the adult. Note that when a white rhino charges the young will charge ahead.

What sounds do rhino make?

Young rhinos will squeal and squeak much like whales. During fighting rhino will grunt loudly and when they charge they make a loud puffing sound much like a steam engine. On occasion the first time you realize there is a rhino around is when you hear the puffing

Do rhino really put out camp fires?

This is claimed by many people to be a myth. However I have met Game Rangers who swear they have witnessed this happening. If this ever happens to you try and grab a photo if you can - after you climb a tree.

Fixating on seeing the Big Five can ruin your safari

The Big Five can Really Spoil your Holiday. (By Jane Flowers)

The last day of Jackie's bush holiday at the Hwange Safari Lodge dawned. The day began with frustration and ended in tears because only four of the big five were spotted.

The big five of Africa include elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and lion. Whilst seeing them in the wild is a wonderful experience, far too many people spoil their visit by focussing only on these animals. If they fail so see all of them some visitors to Africa feel cheated and make their feelings known to the guides and everyone else who happens to be in the vicinity.

In 2010 I was fortunate to see a white rhino bull come to water at one the pans in the Hwange area. There was a party of tourists in the tree hide alongside us. A rhino in the wild is certainly not something that is seen every day of the week. It was an awesome and humbling experience to watch this magnificent animal drink and briefly contemplate taking a mud-bath. There was no mud bath because of the loud complaints from one of the visitors that they had seen a rhino already and they wanted to see an elephant.  The rhino was disturbed and quickly made his way into a less noisy area.

The complaints went on for some time. By the time we left we all knew the visitor came from Chicago in the USA; we knew how much the holiday had cost and we knew the name of his lawyer he was going to look up when he got back so he could demand a refund.

Dave Rushworth, pioneer of the South African Guide Training schools and contributing writer to the Kruger Park magazine once took a group of us on a walk that enthralled and captivated us for two hours. In all that time we did not lose sight of the kitchen tent five hundred meters away.

By fixating on the big five visitors can ruin their own experience. There is so much more to the wilderness than the big five. A safari in Africa is not an afternoon picnic at the zoo and the full experience should be so much more than a species sighting checklist.

A visit to the wilderness means stepping into an entire eco-system that contains a fascinating range of animals and plants. Delightful birds fly or walk into camp; cute bush babies and mischievous genets often pay a fleeting visit to the camp fire party. Snakes, insects and small antelope are interesting and numerous.

Impala are common but their graceful and gentle ways bring beauty to the day. On a game drive in Bobodi near the north east corner of South Africa I heard a tourist describe impala as an "again antelope" because they were seen so often. He went on to describe them as “the world’s ultimate bore.”  A rare sighting of a nocturnal anteater drew a comment that they are like rats in parts of Asia and the visitor would rather eat it than waste time looking at it.

I have been fortunate to have lived and worked in the African Parks and wilderness areas. Despite this I have never managed to see all of the big five inside of one week. This makes the experience of seeing even one of them something to treasure.

If you are on safari and disappointment is tugging at the edges of your enjoyment of your African holiday remember to look and listen carefully.  Some of the finest moments are found in the scent of rain on thirsty soil, in the chatter of the insect chorus at dusk or the haunting calls of owls hunting through the dark hours.

A good news story shared by Africa Yarona (Sue Guthrie)

A Good News Story. Shared via Jane Flowers Blog by Sue Guthrie.

Anna Tlou (49) was born and raised in rural Mpumalanga , she is a bright, intelligent, capable person who, like too many South Africans, through no fault of her own, has no education and is illiterate.  Starting her working life as a field picker for a large vegetable farm she later found work as a domestic.  Despite her meagre income, she was determined that her two sons -Sipho and Thabo – should not end up like her. As a single parent with little help from their father, Sipho has matriculated and Thabo is in standard 9.

 Through pure chance Anna found her way to Africa Ya Rona, an Art Community based in Bapsfontein and it is here that she has recently begun a new chapter in her life. Based on the Tengene art community in Zimbabwe, Africa Ya Rona is open to anyone who wishes to sculpt and is prepared to contribute to the community. In exchange for helping with the laundry and cooking Anna was taught the basics of sculpting in stone.

Once she understood and could use the tools she was given her first project – make 3 stone eggs. (If a person can make an egg by hand, that is in correct proportion and consistent shape, it is a clear indication of having an eye for both beauty and form.  Anna has that abilit, she has opened a door for herself as a stone sculptor. For the first time in her  life she has an outlet for her intellect, she can express herself as never before, she  has found freedom in a talent she did not know she had. Anna’s excitement and pleasure at finding this is palpable and real. This chance for developing a skill at the age of 49 is remarkable and touching.

This type of community system has worked well in Zimbabwe;  over  many years it has created literally thousands of jobs,  why should it not work for us here in South Africa?  Africa Ya Rona has recently found the marble-like Savannah stone, a beautiful hard stone ideal for carving.  At the core of Africa Ya Rona’s community are four established Zimbabwean artists; they are teaching South African’s like Anna, how to carve.  

Will Anna be able to make a living from this? Who knows?  We certainly hope so. Just as we hope many more of our people will find hope and a future in carving from stone. To this end The Farm Inn has allowed us the use of their beautiful indigenous garden to display works from our founding artists, they have also opened the “Loft Gallery” to display some of the smaller works from both the beginners and established artists. To make this dream come true we need your support. 

Anna will be exhibiting her eggs at the Africa Ya Rona @ The Farm Inn Exhibition opening 15h00 this Saturday, 31^st August. 

A Practical Guide to buying a new Mini-Van. By J. Flowers

Prior to setting off in search of your new car, it is useful and less likely to end up in tears if you are able to identify your needs. It is no good rocking up back home from the dealer with a Mercedes C-Class C350 Sport Sedan if you are a Scuba diver, for instance. There's not enough room in the back to squeeze in a fish and chip take-away, never mind a giant  aqualung and multiple shark deterrents.

Setting your priorities and sticking with them is a universal challenge faced by new car buyers worldwide. Take comfort in the knowledge then that you are not the only person on this planet who has a wallet full of hard-earned rubles that really do not want to be spent on a practical mini-van. And who can blame them? The average minivan has about much appeal as sitting through a re-run of Bashar al-Assad’s BBC televised speeches.

Today I am here to take the tedium out of Mini-Van buying by announcing that this time out, you really don’t have to settle for something that looks like a taxi you would rather run over than be seen driving. The Ford Kuga has arrived!

According to South African Ford dealers, the Kuga sports a kinetic design, an intelligent AWB system and a dynamic exterior. There are a lot of other things they have to say about this people and aqualung carrier, such as Independent multi-link Control Blades and multi-point fuel injection. But they really should just let you drive it and you can. Find your local dealer online at http://www.ford.co.za/locator-a-dealer.  I guarantee you will never buy a mini-van again, unless of course you are a Taxi driver.

Should Takealot be Worried about Dionwired? By J Flowers

Takealot claim to be the premier online shopping platform in Africa. With the merger of Takealot and Kalaharai.com in May 2015 this claim is right on the ladder.

Takealot sell the widest range of quality products from one place in the country. According to Alexsa Bidorbuy is their nearest competitor. Bidorbuy is an online auction or buy now site and is the equivalent of EBay in South Africa. Whilst they may compete for customers, they cannot really be considered a true competitor in that they do not only sell new products and quality cannot be guaranteed to the consumer. The same applies to Gumtree and OLX who also rank highly, but their products and services come from all over South Africa. Once again, anyone can sign up and sell. For discerning customers they are really not an option.

According to Alexa rankings, Takealot sits between Standard Bank and Junk Mail, both very popular sites, and Bidorbuy trails below that. According to Similar web, Takealot was sitting at ranking of 30 and was trending downwards until the recent Kalahari merger.

Regarding downward trending, Groupon is not likely to be the cause of any problems for Takealot. They have an annoying signup for newsletters before visitors can view the products on their site and this would account for a huge bounce rate. As far as I can see the only promising thing about Groupon is that shipping is included in prices quoted. Many external companies or individuals provide the end service which can be problematic for the consumer

Another online site is Onedayonly which is ranked at 231 in South Africa. They offer one day specials on very nice products but are not able to indicate to the buyer the quantities available. No shipping is in included in prices and refunds rather than product replacement seems to be the norm. They have a laid back FAQ page. Too laid back with a “Yo-Bro” angle that will probably bounce older bread winners.

The closest potential online competition to Takealot who provide after sales service, good duality and in-house staff is Dionwired. Dionwired sell electronics, beauty products, appliances, audio, computer and photography equipment. Whilst they do not have as big a range of product as Takealot they do, according to General Manager, Andrew Jackson, “effectively offer a presence in every town and city across South Africa.” This is useful for persons resident in outlying areas.

One advantage Dionwired has is that they offer real time TV license validation, a functionality they developed. This is a legal requirement in South Africa. Taking the hassle out of anything like this is a plus factor. This might account for the fact that DionWired is the biggest online seller of TVs in South Africa. Customers can apply for credit online.

The success and upward trending of Dionwired can probably be largely traced to the fact that Whois states they score a whopping 89 percent on their SEO score. Their estimated traffic is 230k. Of their visitors, most spend just under four and a half minutes on site, with a bounce rate of 38%. In comparison, Takealot visitors stay for an average of 7 minutes.

This difference could be accounted for in the fact that the landing page for Takealot clearly indicates the merits of buying from them with only one small movement of the mouse scroll. The visitor to the site does not need to click for all categories, as they are clearly displayed on the left menu. The “tied the knot” banner at top right of the landing page immediately assures customer confidence as the Kalahari brand is well known and trusted. The Dionwired site has a leaflet download in the left hand menu. This is a good place to draw the web reader’s attention, but few people want to time-waste with downloads, so the space could be better used. If a visitor wants to find out more about how it all works, they need to scroll right to the bottom of the very long landing page. Scrolling bounces customers. Excessive time spent looking for answers bounces even more.

In summary, Takealot has to keep an eye on Dionwired as a potential competitor in South Africa

Royals Re-Visit 54 Year Old Anti-Poaching Concept.. By J Flowers

Prince William said in a visit to China in 2015 "that any EU plan should include three key elements: a permanent fund to boost anti-poaching efforts, tougher minimum sanctions for wildlife criminals and a dedicated new Wildlife Crime Unit in the EU’s crime-fighting agency, Europol."

The young Royals have been impressively active in pushing for a dedicated wildlife crime unit, despite some critisism that that their own ancestors were known to hunt big game. Being a "get down and do it kind of man", Prince Harry is engaging in hands on anti-poaching operations in the Kruger National Park.

Catherine Bearder, Liberal Democrat MEP for the South East (UK) is very vocal as well, writing "The fight against wildlife-trafficking will not be easy. But future generations would not forgive us if we failed to put a stop to this despicable trade".

Even the Amerians are getting on board, but typically their altruisim appears to be suspect and their concerns seem to be motivated by the use of the illegal trade to raise funds for terror organisations.

Whatever the motivations are, the concept of Princes leading the way in proposing an EU based unit to fight poaching in Africa is not a new idea. In 1961, horrified by the slaughter of elephants and rhinos in newly independent African States and those countries engaged in civl war, the late Dr. Ian Player called for a Green Hemlet Brigade. In his biography Into the River of Life, Ian Player told Graham Linscott that he envisaged this brigade could "go into countries where law and order had broken down and national parks were overwhelmed and be stationed there until civil order was restored."

The Green Hemet Brigade never happened, but there was princely involvement in a similar operation in the late 1980s. John Hanks broke the silence on this ill-fated effort in his Operation Lock and the War on Rhino. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands funded and planned Operation Lock, a secret initiative staffed by exBritish SAS soldiers to stop rhino poaching in southern Africa. Based in Johannesburg, Operation Lock extended into the neighbouring states. When the project was unmasked, Prince Bernhard, denied any knowledge.

Operation Lock hired Kilo Alpha Services (KAS),a private security firm led by Lt. Col. Ian Crooke. He had been serving with the 23rd SAS Regiment which is composed of part-time and reserve officers.

Operation Lock, through the involvment of KAS, ended up being accused of various nefarious politcal activities and involvement in the fratricidal war in South Africa between the African National Congress and the Zulu Inkatha movement. As they were involved in the training of Zulu followers of Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Inkatha, who were employed in several South African parks, the allegations were that they were using these trained men as a "Third Force" to bring about political confusion by pitting Zulu and ANC cadres against each other.

In August 1991, Zimbabwean Minister for National Security Sydney Sekerayami accused KAS of "being a cover for the destabilization of southern Africa." In 1993, his government's investigations determined that the 1992 Boipatong anti-Zulu massacre was carried out by the "Crowbar squad," a Namibian anti-poaching unit created and trained by KAS.

Possibly these allegations were correct but in any event it highlights the fact that any operation to police the continent of Africa needs the support of the leaders in those countries. Obtaining that support may be more difficult than it may appear at first glance. One only needs to look to the leadership of a country like Zimbabwe to find deep resistance to outside involvement.

The First Shots of the Rhino War

The first shots of the rhino war were fired in the Zimbabwean shoot to kill policy in early 1980s. At the time Robert Mugabe was still being hailed as the saviour of Africa and busy being feted at tea parties in Buckingham Palace. The white Zimbabwean farmers had not yet been forced off their land and the country was booming. The war had ended and closed border posts had re-opened.

The end of the war in Zimbabwe brought to an end hostility with neighbouring countries. It brought to an end the armed forces on the ground in wilderness areas and it opened up the animal sanctuaries to poachers who needed to no longer fear being mistaken for armed insurgents.

I spoke to Frank Flowers, who at time was the Police Officer in Charge of Chirundu. His area covered the wildlife estates along the Zambezi River including Mana Pools. He explained that the cessation of hostilities had created the situation whereby Zambian nationals in particular were plundering the wildlife resources of the Zambesi.

"I know that at one time the Zambian Government was accused of officially sanctioning this poaching and they reacted very badly to these allegations," Frank said in a recent interview. "Led by the late Olly Coltman, Parks Warden of the area, we had formed a joint task force of Army, Parks and Police to attempt to stop the poaching. We tried very hard and we had a number of contacts with poachers, but overall it was a very disheartening experience."

He went on to explain that the heights of Chirundu over-looked the Zambian side of the river. "There were roads being bulldozed through the bush and large Russian trucks came in. Tented camps were set up. We could see crowds of locals assembling. Surely this kind of activity could not have gone unnoticed by the Zambian authorities?"

In an effort to gain some cross-border co-operation he invited his opposite number from the Zambian side to accompany him on an operation. "The Zambians had a different attitude to wildlife back then. He asked me why we were fighting the poachers and even went so far as to say we should be killing the animals because they are dangerous. I recall sitting in the evening, listening to gun shots. In the morning we deployed a patrol down the river. All we found were the bones of the elephants shot that night. All along the area we could see where the flotilla of canoes had crossed from the Zambian side, hacked away the meat and the tusks to transport back across the river. I have to say I was disappointed in the Zambian Police attitude. But some good came of it. On the way back up river in the Police boat, the poachers opened fire on us. That got his attention!"

Within days of the shooting incident Frank reported that the local Police on the Zambian side had deployed their Mobile Unit into the area. They thumped heads and burnt down huts, one assumes in retaliation for the shooting incident and not a sudden and radical change of heart about the welfare of elephants and rhinos.

"For a while, the poaching was becoming controllable," but, shaking his head sadly - Frank said, "the corruption of politics prevented any real long-lasting impact on it. We were prevented from prosecuting some people because they were apparently asscoiated to, or members of the ruling party. It does not surprise me in the least that Rory Young, the conservationist who is training locals in anti-poaching techniques recently had to flee Zimbabwe following threats from the Zimbabwean CIO operatives. He says that secret service agents were involved in poaching and trafficking of wild animals and he is probably correct in that assertion."
Frank went on to serve as a Senior Ranger in the Natal Parks Board in South Africa. "Because of my police and parks experience with anti-poaching activites, I admire the young Royals attempts to really make a difference. Getting their message out is much easier in these days of social media and instant communications but I foresee huge obstacles in overcoming all the fiefdoms and politics of Africa as a whole.

New Approach - old ideas.

Ian Player and Operation Lock did not have the advantage of instant social media. They were attempting to do something in a world that really did not care enough about some dead elephants and rhinos in the back end of Africa. In addition to this they were fighting agains an uninformed local population. Even South Africa had their share of farmers and hunters who felt conservation activities interferred in their divine right to hunt and kill and tame the land.

The war aginst poaching really is a war. Talking to the Daily Mail about Prince Harry's anti-poaching efforts in the Kruger South African, conservationist Peter Chadwick said: 'This is counter-insurgency, an actual war that they are fighting."

In order to fight a war, there needs to be massive support for the war and there needs to be unwavering support from staunch allies. The young Royals and social media guarantee the support. The unwavering allies are less certain. We can only hope for the success of a new approach to a Green Helmet Brigade if the governments of Africa are unwavering in their political maturity.

South Africa's Public Transport Pipe-dream

Every South African aspires to owning a car. This desire goes well beyond the need to acquire a simple means of transport for personal image is tightly bound to the social status of the South African psyche.

For the poor, the first step on the social ladder is the means to buy a bicycle. A personal means of transport in a country that has very limited public transport facilites translates into financial status. Owning a car is the next thing to status heaven. For those who can afford it why own a little Kia when you can drive the latest Ford Ranger 4x4? Why be seen in a common Ford when you can drive a Jeep? A lot of this perception of status would keep commuters self driving even if there were regular busses in every city in the country.

Public transport vehicles in South Africa are often old, unreliable and have limited routes. With the exception of the Gautrain, rail transport is crowded, poorly maintained and very often dirty.

The mini taxis also known as pirate taxis have a bad reputation for unsafe driving and frequently stop running services in order to have taxi route wars. The concept of car-pool sharing and lift clubs is still fairly new and in comparison to more developed countries is seldom considered in terms of energy saving and conservation. The amount of lift clubbing and car pooling barely makes a dent in the traffic flow of South Africa.


The primary means of transport to work and school involves the use of a private car or mini-taxi. The average number of passengers per trip is 4 people. This translates into each passenger generating 2,485.22kg of CO2 per year. To put this into a tangible context - it takes 28.98 trees per passenger per year to generate enough oxygen to compensate for this pollution.

In August 1996 Mac Maharaj, Minister of Transport stated that the vision for South African transport is of a system which will:
"Provide safe, reliable, effective, efficient, and fully integrated transport operations and infrastructure which will best meet the needs of freight and passenger customers at improving levels of service and cost in a fashion which supports government strategies for economic and social development whilst being environmentally and economically sustainable".

Nearly ten years on from this the public perception is that all South Africa really has to show for these noble sentiments is the E-Toll Debacle and a roller coaster ride on fuel prices.

Speaking to the Mail & Guardian in 2013 Jack van der Merwe, chief executive of the Gautrain Management Agency said "There is a lot of public transport happening, but it's fragmented and not co-ordinated,"

Fragmentation means the death of any co-ordinated public transport improvements.

Change comes from the consumer in every society. Consumer potential to pressure the governing bodies of South Africa to impliment a reliable and safe public transport system is just not there. In a society where owning a car is about status and freedom of choice nobody should be holding their breath that an innovative public transport system is going to happen in their lifetime.