Prince Harry in town to walk and feed orphaned rhinos
His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales recently visited Care For Wild Africa (CFW) and spent some quality time with its residents.
MBOMBELA – After much speculation on the whereabouts of Prince Harry it has been confirmed that he is indeed in the Lowveld and Kruger National Park. The Royal Prince visited the Care for Wild Africa (CFW) Rehabilitation centre just outside Mbombela last Friday.
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Prince Harry reported to be doing KNP duty
Rumours started surfacing over the weekend that Prince Harry was part of a sting operation in the Kruger National Park (KNP) where poachers were apprehended near Malalane last week. Nobody wanted to comment on the inquiries but the British media was adamant about the story.
But photos of the young prince visiting CFW popped up in social media on Wednesday. At first everyone denied the visit, but it was later confirmed by Ms Marnelle van der Merwe, spokesman for CFW. According to her, the prince spent the morning learning about, not only the importance of conserving the animals, but also how severe poaching in our country really is.
“He spoke to two British students who are currently volunteering with us and told them what an important job they have to create awareness of the issue back home,” she told Lowvelder.
Apparently, the British don’t grasp how big a problem rhino poaching in South Africa actually is.
He was extremely interested in the process of rehabilitation and what it entailed raising the young orphaned rhinos. He also got down and dirty by bottle-feeding a rhino calf and taking a stroll with the baby rhino named Warren. The young orphans are also given regular mud baths and the prince didn’t hesitate when it was time to give a bath to two of the sub-adult rhinos, Storm and Luna. “What an experience it was,” Van der Merwe exclaimed, still start-struck by the day’s events.
He also fed our two resident hippos – Emma and Molly. He thoroughly enjoyed it.
The prince left for the KNP after his excursion and will be spending more time learning about the work of anti-poaching team and the initiatives within Kruger to fight the scourge. Lowvelder contacted a spokesman at Kensington Palace to get comment but was only told that they confirmed his visit to the KNP.
