Our students often get the opportunity to assist with dartings on the reserve - being up close and personal to these animals (elephants, buffalo, rhino, giraffes etc) - an amazing experience! One of current students did a short update of the experience -
Firstly we were involved in the darting of a rhino, assisting the vets where we could with applying wound treatments received in a fight with another rhino.
In addition the vet placed a transmitter into its horn for anti-poaching purposes, an unfortunate but necessary requirement in today’s’ current climate.
An awesome experience and a rare one, being so close to this magnificent creature and so fortunate being involved in an operation such as this.
Today too drew another amazing experience, an unexpected surprise so close to following up our Rhino experience.
One of our elephants Alatisha and her baby Ananzi were darted, Alatisha being collared. The reason for collaring Alatisha is to research the impact elephants are having on the vegetation on the Reserve.
Ananzi, loyal throughout, was also darted to prevent undue stress on him as her Mum was having the collar put on.
They are amazing creatures, ones that you don’t quite realise their true immensity until you are right there beside them and the strange feeling of their inch thick skin is something else that will stay with me.
A short while later Mum and son were back on their feet, Mum bearing some new decoration and then they were back off to the herd.
Some good times running us into our last month here!