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QHAWE – Our Very Own Rhino Warrior

On 28th March 2024, our team at the orphanage were preparing for the arrival of yet another new orphaned rhino. We were not sure what to expect of the newest arrival but were ready to care for her as best as we could.

A few days earlier, she would have been playing and exploring the bush with her mother in the province of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Until poachers had struck at night, brutally killing her mother for her horns to later make its way into traditional medicinal use, a highly lucrative market. They did not stop there, they had shot her in the process, leaving her in agonising pain beside her mother’s dead body.

She was later named Qhawe, meaning warrior in Zulu. She fought hard, as did we beside her, to the very end. Unfortunately, Qhawe’s story is not uncommon, the future of many rhinos has been faced with exceptional challenges most of which are brought on by humankind.

Nothing could have prepared us for the horrific sight of a heavily injured orphan who battled to save her mothers life. Qhawe was only about five and a half months old and was left in a very vulnerable state alone in the bush. She required intensive care to treat her injuries and to rehabilitate her, the team led by Simoné Marshall-Smith (ZRO Manager) and vet Dr Trever Viljoen fought around the clock in a desperate attempt to save her life. Little did we know it would become some of the most exhausting and emotional days we had experienced.

Qhawe had been in a lot of pain, the bullet had entered her right shoulder and exited through her left rump. Despite being in a great deal of pain, she was a fighter, who fought so courageously that we were hopeful and believed we could save her. However, three days later she had taken a turn for the worse and despite assistance from Dr Trever, had passed away at early hours of the morning. Just days before, she had been living in the wild with her mother, both healthy, happy, and unsuspecting. It is deeply paining that one night, a poacher’s bullet and a false international belief had caused the death of two rhinos within a span of three days.

The postmortem revealed that the poachers bullet had punctured her lungs and perforated her colon and ultimately, she had died of sepsis.

Simone was on shift when Qhawe had died and observed the calf slowly giving up her fight. A heart-breaking time for a passionate and seasoned rhino orphan carer, who shared, “I felt like I had failed her. Humankind has failed rhinos.”

We tried to ease her pain during her last few days on earth, surrounding her with intensive care, love, and compassion. Sadly, she is considered among the lucky few who had been found and given the chance for a second fight, one that many rhino orphans are not. Her injuries were just too severe.

KwaZulu Natal, where Qhawe was found, has once again been highlighted as the global hotspot for rhino poaching in 2023. Over half of the South Africa’s rhino losses happened in this province, predominantly in HluHluwe-iMfolozi, a state-owned park.

499 rhinos were estimated to have been killed by poachers in 2023 to supply the demand in Asia for the myth of their horns’ healing abilities. It is worrying how many more rhinos are indirect victims of poaching, how many more rhinos are not found in time, and how many more calves have never even been given the chance to exist.

At Zululand Rhino Orphanage we are committed to providing for rhinos in every possible way, often meaning numerous nights of countless sleep caring for orphans. However, with the worsening situation in KwaZulu Natal we require greater resources and an expansion to house and continue to provide care for new orphans, ensuring they are given the best chance of survival.

We were all in shock after seeing Qhawe suffer from such a painful and unnecessary death. The loss was so tremendous that we felt hopeless at the time in what felt like a losing battle. However, the determination to fight back remains in us all, and hopefully transpires to you as well.

We have to keep being Rhino Warriors. We can all be a Rhino Warrior. It is not over and we need to do better.

Take action now. Be a Rhino Warrior, just like Qhawe. Spread her story and many others’ like hers.

Donate to safeguard the future of our rhino orphans and help us to ensure when the next orphan arrives, we can continue to provide the best possible care that these orphans so desperately need.

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Donation Total: R1 000.00 One Time

Banking Details for direct deposits / efts

Bank Name: First National Bank / RMB
Bank Account Number: 62752589344
Ref to use for all payments: Rhino Warrior

OUR STORY

We never dreamed we would have the privilege of helping rhino orphans. It happened by chance, although under incredibly tragic circumstances, on 20th February 2017, when poachers attacked a regional rhino orphanage. As a result, fear of this ongoing security threat was the deciding factor in the facility closing its doors. With the rhino orphans urgently needing a home, the Zululand Conservation Trust stepped up, deciding to shoulder the responsibility and costs.

We worked tirelessly against the clock to build these orphans a comfortable and suitable facility to call home. Thanks to our hardworking team of resourceful employees, we built a 3.5-hectare boma for the two oldest orphans, Storm and Nandi. On 14th March 2017, it was the most rewarding experience watching the two black rhino orphans take their first tentative steps into their new home. The hard work had only begun!

Next, we set about preparing the enclosure for the remaining three orphans who required round-the-clock care. Thankfully, with the incredible support of Container Conversions, we set up a facility in a matter of weeks, kitted out with a kitchen for milk preparations and a safe and warm sleeping area.

By April 2017, we had managed to move the two white rhinos, Makhosi and Isomiso, as well as Charlie, their little hippo friend, into a new home. Our story doesn’t end there, though. One month later, while the orphans were settling in, we received a devastating call to help a calf from another reserve. For six cold, rainy days, this tiny calf had survived next to the lifeless carcass of his mother, who had been poached.

Having just opened our doors, every space we had was already occupied. But that didn’t deter us, and we managed to build a temporary living space for the little calf, who we named Ntoto. While the Zululand Rhino Orphanage might have been born from tragedy, ultimately, our story is one of hope. Nurturing and raising these precious survivors is of the utmost importance to us. It is our mission to ensure that they are released back into the wild where they belong.

MEET OUR ORPHANS

You can help us care for our orphans by donating to ZCT to support our rhino rehabilitation work and the development of the facility.

Alternatively, the Zululand Rhino Orphanage has partnered with Helping Rhinos to give you the option to adopt your favourite orphan! You will receive a certificate, information about your newly adopted rhino orphan and a photo. Your adoption fee goes toward ensuring these orphans get all the food, medication, protection and care they need.

Choose an option below to donate to the general care of our rhino orphans and running of the facility or to view the Helping Rhinos adoption tiers.

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HELPING RHINO’S
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Everything we do is made possible by generous donations.

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Donation Total: R1 000.00 One Time

Banking Details

Details for direct deposits / efts
Bank Account Name: Zululand Rhino Reserve Foundation
Bank Name: First National Bank / RMB
Branch: Florida Road
Branch Code: 220526
Bank Account Number: 62305315386
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJ

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