Wildlife Conservation South Africa Project #14141

Protect and Save the life of Our Rhinos

by Action Change (Formerly GVI Trust)

Project Report | Jan 20, 2016
Dehorning the Karongwe Rhinos

By Kate Robey | Charitable Trust Operations Manager

The dehorning team

Dear Supporter,

Towards the end of 2015, we made the very hard decision to dehorn our remaining population of rhinos in Karongwe Game Reserve here in Limpopo, South Africa.

The rhinos on Karongwe are under an ever increasing threat of being poached for their horns. We have lost three rhinos over the past 12 months and have been facing the possibility of losing more, as poaching throughout South Africa is becoming more of an issue each year.

The tough, but necessary decision was taken to remove the horns from all of our rhinos, in an effort to decrease the level of danger they face. Poachers break into the reserve and paralyse or kill rhinos in order to remove their horns. Despite being made of keratin, exactly the same protein which makes up our hair and nails, the current street price for rhino horn can exceed US$ 60,000 per kilogram.

The ever growing demand from the Asian market for this lucrative product has made poaching numbers sky rocket in the past 8 years, with a 5000% increase since 2007. This is a very real and current problem, and if the mindless killing does not come to a stop soon, then rhinos will very likely be extinct in the wild within 20 years from now.

The money that you have donated last year has played a huge part in protecting Karongwe’s rhinos from a brutal and agonising death. Your donations have covered the veterinary costs incurred during the process of removing the rhions horns as well as contributing towards the costs of hiring a helicopter to locate and dart the rhinos.

We have grown to know and love these individuals and we cannot thank you enough for your help.

With Gratitude,

GVI South Africa

Proactive conservation!

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Nov 2, 2015
Karongwe's Run for Rhinos

By Kate Robey | Head of Operations

These 2 rhinos were killed earlier this year.

Dear Supporter,

Karongwe has been hit twice by poachers in the past 12 months, this has led to the loss of two females and one calf.

The aim of this run was to raise money for Karongwe’s anti-poaching fund, allowing the reserve to better equip the anti-poaching team and to put in stronger measures to protect our rhinos.

Karongwe’s rhinos are not only important for the reserve, they also play a part in the wider conservation of the white rhino in South Africa. White rhino deaths will soon outnumber births, which means that every individual left in the wild counts more than ever.

The Run

On Sunday 6th of September, a group of 12 volunteers and staff undertook a 15km run along the entire length of our eastern fence line. With no training! Due to our location on the reserve, no one had been able to practice very much, despite this everyone did fantastically well and even those who declared themselves as pretty unfit managed to make it to the finish line.

The atmosphere at the finish line was fantastic as most people were pleasantly surprised by their finish times. Everybody also felt pleased that they had contributed towards generating awareness and funds for Karongwe’s rhinos. All in all a successful day!

Our quickest time was achieved by placement intern Leah Brown, who crossed the line in 1 hour 35 minutes. Second place was achieved by our intern Tracy Tervoort who did not stop once.

Unfortunately, we did not reach our target, which looking back was probably rather ambitious, at £20 000! However, we did receive 26 donations, all of which will help to fund our anti-poaching efforts.

Thank you for your continued and generous support!

With Gratitude

GVI South Africa

Finishing the 1st GVI Run for Rhinos!

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Sep 2, 2015
Run for Rhinos

By Kate Robey | Charitable Trust Operations Manager

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