Poison used to deter rhino poachers

Tracking the number of rhinos poached each month is too depressing to even comprehend and in spite of numerous measures put in place by game farms, their treasured rhinos continue to be slaughtered by greedy poachers looking to make a quick buck from the animal’s prized horns.

One such game farm is Askari Game Lodge, just 45 minutes from the city, which recently lost two of their rhinos to poachers within weeks of each other. Both cows were pregnant at the time, making the slaughter all the more brutal.

In an attempt to protect their remaining rhinos the game farm decided to treat the animals’ horns with poison and a dye. I was lucky enough to be invited to join the vets and rangers on the operation. Starting out at sunrise we followed in game drive vehicles as the vet flew off with a pilot in a bush helicopter to dart the first rhino.

The stopwatch begins the moment the tranquiliser takes effect. Although relatively simple, the procedure is done with military efficiency to ensure the animal is down for the shortest time possible.

The vet immediately covers the rhino’s eyes and blocks its ears with a cloth. This is to minimise stress. An oxygen tube is inserted into the animal’s nose to assist its breathing and the vet drills a hole into each horn. Once completed he attaches the tubes linked to the machine that administers the poison.

While the poison is being delivered he begins to dye the rhino’s horns with a red dye squeezed from a syringe. The dye not only ruins the horn aesthetically; making it undesirable to buyers; but it also warns poachers that the horn has been treated with poison.

Due to the strain that lying down places on the rhino’s organs it is necessary to roll the animal over halfway through the procedure. This is done very carefully by a team of people.

Various measurements are done and samples taken during the procedure too.

Once completed the vet administers a drug to counteract the tranquiliser. Within two minutes the rhino is up on its feet again and, after a second or two of disorientation, the animal merrily heads back into the bush.

The drug, while harmless to the rhino, is highly toxic to humans. The severity of the side effects is directly determined by the volume of the horn ingested or the length of time it comes into contact with human skin. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and convulsions. If enough is consumed and medical attention is not sought the poison can prove fatal.