Charging Black Rhinos

Black rhinos are formidable creatures, as I found out as I was tracking them in Zimbabwe.  I was part of a team of people mapping out the location of all the rhinos in the area.  Once mapped out, the de-horning team could fly in and efficiently dart all the rhinos and saw off their horns.  Sounds a painful process, but it is a bit like cutting your nails, the horn is made of keratin, the same stuff that your nails are made of.

So there I was in the middle of nowhere, with a tracker, facing a family unit of black rhino.  The male, which had a horn the size if the Eiffel Tower, knew that there was something up and was raised up on its haunches sniffing the air.  They are not that good at seeing things but boy are they good at smelling and hearing.  I held my breath for eternity as the male searched for the threat to his family.  The mother and the very very small calf were getting a bit agitated as well.  So we moved away from the family after recording data on each of the individuals. 

It was then that then that the wind changed and the male pin pointed us.  There was no hope but to run for it and climb the nearest tree.  The tracker, Ndomiso, was like lightening and up the tree before I considered moving.  And there I was, belting for my life as a ton of rhino bore down on me.  It was at that point that I realised that I could have climbed a greased telegraph pole with the amount of adrenalin that was coursing through me.  And I think I did as I do not remember getting into the tree but it was a long way down and I am not good with heights.  At least I had not been gored.

And that memory will stay for a lifetime, and what a great memory to have.