BLACK RHINO TRANSLOCATED FROM CZECH REPUBLIC TO TANZANIA
ALMOST TEN THOUSAND KILOMETRES
... TO A NEW HOME IN SUNNY AFRICA
SPECIAL REPORT WITH PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY
GEORGE ADAMSON WILDLIFE PRESERVATION TRUST
Coastweek.com - - On Friday last week, Tony Fitzjohn, the Field Director of the George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust - who has been working with the Government of Tanzania for 20 years in Mkomazi National Park - took delivery of three black rhino from the Dvur Kralove Zoo, Czech Republic.
The three rhino had earlier been crated at Dvur Kralove Zoo in Czech Republic and then carefully transported on a 1,000 km road trip to Amsterdam.
They were accompanied by Dr. Pete Morkel (probably the best rhino vet in the world), ex Head Rhino Keeper of Port Lympne Berry White and the Dvur Kralove rhino keeper Honza were with them.
The animals then rested for the day at Schipol Airport in a privately set-aside hangar.
They were loaded that night and flew through the night to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
The Martin Air agent advised us that the aircraft would arrive at 07.20 in the morning and the 747 touched down at Kilimanjaro at 07.23.
The rhinos were then disembarked from the aircraft and re-loaded onto the waiting trucks in the record time of one hour.
They drove onwards to Mkomazi and arrived at lunch time.
The Director of Wildlife, the Director General of National Parks, the Chairman of National Parks had flown in for the day.
Brigadier General Hashim Mbita, Rose Lugembe and many other VIPs were there.
On hand to welcome the three black rhino at Mkomazi were Tanzania National
Parks (TANAPA) Chairman of the Board of Trustees Mr Lilungulu, who is seen
[from left] together with Tanzania Tarimo, Director of Wildlife Mr Erasmus,
Wildlife Preservation Trust Fund Chairman Brigadier General Hashim I Mbita
(ret'd), and Wildlife Preservation Trust Fund Trustee Rose Lugembe.
The TANAPA directors and wardens were also there, along with the Deputy British High Commissioner and his wife and the Director of the Dvur Kralove Zoo, Dr Dana Holeckova, who had donated the rhino to Mkomazi.
They have two keepers with them, two vets and a security detail.
On Day two - even though they are fifth-generation-captive-bred animals who have been raised on lucerne, fruit and vegetables - they started eating the Mkomazi vegetation.
Suzuki Rhino Club in The Netherlands made this translocation possible.
Support was also received from:
Save the Rhino, Chester Zoo, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Grumeti Reserves, TANAPA, the Wildlife Division and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
Tanzania's Mkomazi Game Reserve (MGR), is situated between Mt Kilimanjaro and the Indian Ocean, encompasses over 1,200 square miles in north-east Tanzania.
Mkomazi is adjacent to Kenya's Tsavo National Park.
Together, the two areas constitute one of the largest protected wilderness ecosystems in Africa.
In 1988, the Tanzanian government asked Tony Fitzjohn to reclaim Mkomazi, which was then on the brink of ecological disaster due to overgrazing, burning and indiscriminate hunting and poaching.
Since then, the elephant, lion, hyena, leopard, cheetah, impala, eland, oryx and lesser kudu populations have made a remarkable recovery and steady increases have been observed in the numbers of water buffalo, zebra, giraffe and kongoni.
'Jabu' and 'Deborah' - two black rhino recently arrived in Tanzania from
from the Czech Republic - seen in their new and temporary enclosure at
Mkomazi Game Reserve, Tanzania.
The Mkomazi reserve not only hosts 78 species of wildlife all year round, it is also home to over 450 species of bird:
doves, hornbills, weavers and guinea-fowl are all present in large numbers – besides such striking species as the martial eagle and the violet wood-hoopoe.
Mkomazi is a truly unique area, both for its density and the diversity of its wildlife.
A proposal has been submitted to upgrade its status to National Park.
Do please visit Mkomazi web site at - http://www.wildlifenow.com
