Trucks full of feed help save Lionspruit’s wildlife
Lionspruit Game Reserve's two rhinos, and other wildlife, and got a big gift on Monday night when three trucks full of special feed was delivered to them.
MARLOTH PARK – The plight of the Lionspruit Game Reserve’s two rhinos captured the hearts of many on social media and on Monday night Boere in Nood delivered 130 bales of grass to aid locals’ feeding efforts.
The generous donation will help to feed the rhinos, who have been nicknamed Peanut and Flippie, as well as other wildlife, for about a month.
Members of Boere in Nood (BIN) read about the fact that the animals were starving due to the dry conditions and alleged mismanagement and decided that they had to do something to help.
The facebook group was established two years ago to help farmers struggling due to the drought and has made a huge difference in lot of lives since.
Lynette and Anrie Pienaar, as well as Alison Fitzgerald of the Marloth Wildlife Fund, were contacted and three trucks, sponsored by Volvo SA, were organised and packed with bales of grass and protein licks for the rhinos.
On Monday night, the trunks, named Boytjie, Boertjie and Die Lady, arrived in Marloth Park. It was a very emotional experience for both the residents and volunteers and tears flowed freely.
Santie Roux, one of volunteers, posted about the experience on the Boere in Nood yesterday morning.
“When we arrived there on Monday night we were received with more tears than I’d seen in the last five years of my life. We started hooting a few hundred metres from the gate and it looked like Disney Land as cameras flashed and people’s voices could be heard above the roar of the truck’s engine.”
The group was welcomed by residents of Marloth Park and invited to a special braai. Elize Steyer of Ingwe Supermarket sponsored drinks and Field Security ensured there was delicious wors.
Early the next morning, the bales of grass were dropped off at the municipal depot. “…at sunrise, when we drove to the trucks to drop off the cargo, I realised that there was nothing. Not even a dry shrub. At the depot there were so many people and you could see thankfulness all over their faces,” Roux’s post continued.
The group was taken to see Flippie and Peanut and then treated to a delicious breakfast at Aamazing River View.
The various stakeholders in the area are currently trying to find a long-term solution for the management of the municipal nature reserve.
Read the previous article on the rhinos’ plight and residents’ efforts to save them here.
(The facebook post was translated from Afrikaans and care was taken to preserve the emotion and intent of the post.)
