FACE TO FACE WITH RHINOS

Text by Stephanie Translation by Madeline Weng Pictures by Investec Rhino Lifeline

FACE TO FACE WITH RHINOS

Text by Stephanie Translation by Madeline Weng Pictures by Investec Rhino Lifeline

Ma Weidu's fi rst visit to South Africa started with a hot day in June. After a 27-hour fl ight from Beijing, he arrived in South Africa, where the temperature was cool and comfortable in early winter， the best season for South Africa.

Encountering a Rhino

Ma Weidu is a known scholar in China. He founded Guanfu Museum, which exhibits antiques including rhino horn cups. He knows all too well what rhino horns mean to people, and to rhinos respectively.

Luckily, Ma saw a rhino the fi rst day he visited South Africa. A rhino rushed towards their car when the team was about to wrap up the day. Everyone tensed up, including Ma Weidu. He said: quot;I was shocked, since we had no idea why he came for us. However, I could tell that he tried to control his force to avoid greater damage.quot;

While the forest rangers yelled to stop the rhino, the car sped up and disappeared into the setting sun.

Ma's story with this rhino did not end there. On the third day of his trip, he met the same rhino again when he visited Zoologist Peter Rogers. Doctor

Rogers was collecting DNA samples from the rhino's horn, before he inserted a chip into it. The chip was designed to trace the movement of the rhino, so as to better protect it.

Orphaned Rhinos

At the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre(HESC) in South Africa, Ma met a tailless one-yearold calf. His mother was brutally murdered and dehorned by poachers. The calf was sorrowful and stayed by his mother's side until he was weak and severely dehydrated. A hyena waiting at the side saw his chance, and attacked the motherless rhino.When the forest ranger found him, the poor rhino was on the verge of death, severely mauled and tailless.

Luckily, the calf was strong, and made a full recovery after reconstructive surgery. To avoid his mother's fate from happening again to the next generation, the team had to cut off their horns to avoid further poaching.

There are now only 20,000 rhinos left in the world.More than 1,000 rhinos are murdered for their horns in South Africa every year. If these brutalities continue to happen, rhinos will go extinct within 20 years.

Ma Weidu says, quot;Human beings keep making mistakes like this. We hope these wrong doings will stop one day, so that wild animals can live while the human civilisation develops. Our development should not build on wildlife's sacrifi ce.quot;