Wildlife Conservation South Africa Project #34492

Big Rhinos Need Big Hearts Too

by Wildlife Conservation Trust

Project Report | Aug 11, 2026
The Winter Routine

By Lente Roode | Project Leader

Esme leads the crash back to the boma

In just over two weeks, it will be spring in South Africa. While we are enjoying watching the landscape change from dusty brown to lush green, it takes a while to get to the point where the rhinos can snack on grass and shoots throughout the day. This means that they need to be given extra lucerne and teff to ensure that their nutritional requirements are met.

There are currently 300 bales of lucerne needing to be offloaded, which only last a month! Feeding these large animals is no mean feat.

There is also a lot more dung inside the rhinos’ boma during the winter months because there aren’t any dung beetles in the area to break down the dung for their own use. But all is not lost, as the dung can still be repurposed. It is either gathered up and used to fill in roads around HESC, or to make fertilizer for use in the gardens. Thankfully, our Wildlife Conservation Experience programme participants were on hand to assist.

If you have not yet tuned in to see the live camera feed showing the rhinos in the boma during the late afternoons to early mornings South African time, you can do so here: https://hesc.co.za/live-footage

A reminder that World Rhino Day is also around the corner, celebrated on the 22^nd of September each year. Keep an eye on our socials for more details.

Enjoying every mouthful

Loading up the dung to repurpose

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Apr 17, 2026
Big Plans for Big Rhinos

By Lente Roode | Project Leader

Esme sharing a pile of lucerne with little Eve

Esmé is still thriving and enjoying her peaceful existence along with the other rhinos and her Pedi sheep assistants, Mielie and Liquorice. If you have been following us on social media; or have been keeping up with new information through GlobalGiving; you would have noticed that we have started a new project to specifically raise funds for land at HESC to be prepared in order to accommodate the rhinos in a larger, more secluded area – away from too much human interaction – but also secure enough to keep the poachers out.

While Esmé is the oldest, and currently the only rhino on this particular project, the other rhinos (apart from Angie and Eve) are also now bigger rhinos – and plans need to be made to begin the next steps in their rehabilitation. This is where the larger area of land comes into play. If you are a donor to this project, you would remember Lula and Khulula, who were released in October 2024. They resided on the exact land that now needs to be revived to accommodate the current HESC rhinos.

As funds are being raised, the guides, curators, and extra hired hands will use this money to get going on the hard work of clearing the overgrown bushes and preparing the roads to allow vehicles through. Once the project has been fully funded, the security upgrades can be put in place, and the rhinos can begin their move into this area. This crucial next step prepares them for release and a life back in the wild where they belong.

If you would like to contribute towards getting this land prepared, please see the link to our other project here: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/reviving-for-rewilding.

As always, we want to express our sincere gratitude to you all for supporting this project, which has been ongoing for many years now. You have helped to ensure that rhinos are rehabilitated and released – and that this conservation work continues.

Esme enjoying a mud bath

Peaceful grazing as curator Anya keeps watch

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Dec 18, 2025
Esme undergoes another dehorning procedure

By Lente Roode | Project Leader

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