It’s all about saving the survivors
British couple take rhino calves, as the survivors of rhino poaching, to heart
MBOMBELA – British tourists on a visit to South Africa reckon rhino poaching is becoming like cancer on the psyche of all South Africans and it does not matter who they are or what they do – game rangers, preachers, police officers, in the military or just ordinary South Africans – it affects everyone.
The visitors, Trevor and Susan Barrett, previously lived in South Africa but moved to England in 1996.
“I still remember the South African summers and since we retired, we try to visit as often as possible during your summer. Susan usually says we are running away from the English winter!” Trevor says.
A keen photographer, he has been spending a lot of time on the issue of rhino poaching and in particular sympathising with the survivors – the calves.
This was how he met Melissa Storey of First Car Rental. She arranged a special car for him and Susan while in South Africa.
First Car Rental
Storeys explain what motivated her company to take this step. “The Rhino Orphanage vehicle is a Nissan Juke car wrapped to look like a mom rhino with her baby. It was used in our 2014 campaign to raise national awareness of the world’s first Rhino Orphanage. So it is entirely fitting that the vehicle is now being used by the Barretts in their drive to save South Africa’s endangered rhino.”
Lowvelder published a story during January on Save the Survivor, an organisation caring for rhino calves, which is driven from the Onderstepoort Veterinary Facility just outside Pretoria. This article caught Trevor’s eye. He says, “Reading this article drew a tear to my eye, because I know how traumatised these baby rhino are when they are captured right there at the scene after their mothers were killed by poachers. Sometimes these young ones are found still nursing on the mother and the sound they make is absolutely heart-wrenching – they cry like little lost souls. Most of the time they do not survive the ordeal.”
Trevor and Susan began their Rhino Matters adventure in December, and have been meeting up with experts and enthusiasts to discuss how to protect the species. “The contribution of rhino to South Africa’s landscape is huge, and it’s up to all of us to accommodate and protect them. Experienced conservationists know that we cannot lose these keystone species without affecting the entire ecosystem, without tipping the balance against nature.”
