Whats News with the Somkhanda Reserve and Tane

For the Somkhanda Game Reserve the Wildlands Conservation Trust is formally partnering with the Gumbi Community, assisting with the management and operations of the reserve. By putting efficient management structures and formal agreements in place, the reserve will be able to form partnerships with relevant businesses and ultimately lead to a sustainable business, with protected areas for our threatened species, such as White and Black Rhino.

They have been training up additional Field Rangers and Rhino Monitors on the reserve to help secure the existing Rhino population and create a stable environment for population growth. Through the Adopt a Rhino programme, they have been able to maintain a clean record with zero Rhino poaching incidents.

Our newly named Tane is doing well on the reserve! He is spending quite a bit of time and showing a lot of interest in a young female rhino. Hopefully within the next year they will mate which will be great for the population of Rhino on Somkhanda. Photographing all the Rhino on the reserve has proved difficult with the thick bush, however with winter approaching and the reserve starting to dry up, we will be able to start getting pictures at select water points with camera traps.

As part of the expansion plan, Wildlands is looking to increase the numbers of general game on the reserve. This is important for the ecology of the area and will also ensure that the reserve is attractive to tourists wanting to visit. They will therefore be buying and reintroducing different species of game over the next year. Already introduced over the past month have been numbers of zebra which have settled in well!