Rhinos are poached for their horns. It’s a fact. A hard fact.
Thankfully, the team at Saving the Survivors (STS) is there to help injured, wild animals that have been a victim of poaching or other traumatic events.
It’s fair to say that their incredible work can be quite graphic, but the other side of the story celebrates survival and extraordinary tales of resilience and strength through some of the hardest times.
Here’s one animal that did just that…
Meet Seha (short for Sehawukele meaning ‘have mercy on us’ in Zulu). He’s a Southern White Rhino male, who was the only one out of 5 Rhinos to survive an attack from poachers in the middle of the night. In 2016, a local spotted him roaming across the plains with injuries, and quickly called upon STS. The vets swiftly responded, and came to Seha’s rescue. The owner of the Rhino thought he would have to put him down, but the team offered their assistance, which the owner accepted.
Dr Johan Marais and his team performed life saving surgery on Seha’s wounds and moved him to a safe place to recover.
So where is Seha now and what happens next to the survivors?
Every case is different – some can go back to the wild and some will need longer care and medical attention. In Seha’s case, the vets provided check-ups until his wounds healed.
It’s great to say that today Seha now freely roams around a private game reserve with a vast amount of land – but with high security to keep him safe.
As his recovery was so successful, the team looked to the future, and decided to try and breed from him too.
In 2019, Seha became a father, to a Rhino calf named Daniel. In fact, the mother of Daniel, Lucky, also survived a poaching attempt, she sustained a bullet wound and managed to escape the poachers with her horn intact. It’s therefore possible, that Daniel is the first Rhino calf to be born from two adult Rhinos who have been victims of poaching and survived.
Seha’s calf, Daniel, with his mother, Lucky
So what does this mean?
The team at STS didn’t just save one or two Rhino – but helped to create more – a vital contribution to aid the survival of this endangered species.
‘Do Rhinos have personalities?’ we asked the STS team – the answer was ‘Yes!’. Just like any household pet, Rhinos have their traits and Seha can be summed up in a few words: determined, survivor, full of life!
So what does the future hold for Seha?
The team at STS is planning to introduce more cows to Seha for companionship but more importantly to enable him to breed and spread his valuable genes.
Craghoppers is proud to support STS with their invaluable conservation work as part of our Mindfully Made Campaign. We give the team technical clothing, to keep them comfortable out in varying terrains, while they attend and save wild animals.
Did you know that STS rely solely on donations? If you’d like to find out more about their work or donate to support their work, please follow this link: www.savingthesurvivors.org/donate
By Jennifer Carew