To become a supporter and have the opportunity to go to South Africa to experience first hand the projects Imake a Difference is supporting click here. Or if you would prefer to purchase one of the below products please give us a call on... or email us on rhino@imakeadifference.co.nz with your phone number so we can call to find out your details.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Rhino are distributed across Africa and Asia but the majority are in South Africa. The Southern White Rhino and the Black Rhino are the two species found in South Africa. Although the rhino are being poached worldwide, we are concentrating our efforts in Zululand particularly as it is deemed to be the home of the White Rhino following its recovery from near extinction (20 animals) in the 1890s.
There is no quick fix to stop rhino poaching but there are many things that can help. The three projects we are focussing on this year are explained below.
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A very sad consequence of the rhino poaching epidemic is orphaned rhinos. Rhino cows with babies are the easiest rhino to hunt as they stay to protect their young. While males will more likely run for the hills. These babies are often left to die and if they don’t receive support quickly result in two dead rhino for one set of horn. The orphanage is at Thula Thula in Zululand and will be able to house around 20 orphans.
COMPLETED PROJECTS
It is important that the local communities are educated about conservation and the place animals have in the fabric of their society.
The renovation of the run down Cottlands House has now been completed so the rhino monitors can reside within the Somkhanda Game Reserve. Moving the monitors into the house has the added advantage of ensuring a 24/7 presence inside the reserve
WESSA have printed an informative booklet in Zulu about the plight of the rhino and conservation in general. This fantastic resource could be used in more schools if another print run was made. Imake a Difference funded this reprint.
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ZAP Wing is the key effort of 'Project Rhino'. This is the glue that binds all the fragmented parties involved with the Rhino in Zululand together. It provides aerial surveillance of the land on which the rhino roam. It utilises a combination of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters to patrol fence lines, investigate areas where there are vultures and also act as a general deterent.
The rhino need to be protected.
The parks need to be patrolled, borders need to be monitored from dusk until dawn as this is the time that poachers come into and leave the park. Through the organisation
Stop Rhino Poaching, Imake a Difference bought a tracker dog that was donated to the private security force.
Wildlife Act Fund (WAF) works with Wildlands to provide rhino monitoring and child education around the reserves. Imake a Difference has donated over 20 secondhand laptops computers and 2 projectors to WAF. WAF works with local schools and young adults in the ”at risk” communities to educate them regarding the value of the rhino and the jobs they bring to the community.
The Rhino Art project uses art to get the message about the value of rhino to entire schools at a time in "risk" areas around parks. The programme involves two visits to the school about two weeks apart.
During the first visit the team spends 30 minutes with the students explaining the poaching problem and its impact on the
environment, jobs, regional income etc.
We gave our donors the opportunity to sponsor a rhino. By doing this
they could name their rhino and receive regular updates on the progress of their rhino. The money went towards providing a GPS tracking system for the rhino in Somkhanda Reserve, employing full time rhino monitors and overall protection of the rhino. We had four donors who sponsored a rhino.