I couldn’t handle sitting back behind my desk watching Aquila’s updates about ABSA’s progress on their social media platforms. I felt helpless and was itching to get back out to the reserve to report to you firsthand how the big guy’s getting on. Here is ABSA’s day-by-day progress since I was there on Sunday 21 August 2011.
MONDAY
On Monday the vet, Doempies Trichardt, decided to sedate ABSA allowing them to inject a drip into him. He was severely dehydrated and they urgently needed to get 80 litres of liquid into him – a procedure that would take approximately three hours. Two drips were inserted and the vets successfully administered the liquid.
By Monday evening, the sedative had worn off yet he still hadn’t moved much and the vets were concerned about the weight on his front leg which had swelled up. The injury to his front leg was probably caused by the way it was positioned under his body when he collapsed from the poachers dart. He would’ve lain in that position for a couple of hours before the antidote arrived. He might have cut off the blood flow to that area or he could have broken or fractured it.
The decision was made to give him as much space as possible after a very stressful few days. The rangers that were posted to guard him stayed downwind so as not to spook him by their scent.
I sat with Cape Times journalist, Michelle Jones, on Sunday and she asked Aquila Private Game Reserve owner, Searl Derman, if his injured rhino had a name. He hesitated, and said ‘ABSA’. When they first started Aquila many years ago, there wasn’t a lot of money and their first rhino bought into the reserve was financed by ABSA. Searl used to joke that ABSA used to own the rhino and then the name stuck. ABSA was the first rhino in the Western Cape since they were poached out 250 years ago and the first of the big five on Aquila’s property.
TUESDAY
ABSA has been lying in an open clearing about 1.5km from the lodge – the clearing is a patch of clay soil which brought a whole heap of other challenges for the team. It started to drizzle and if the clay soil got soaked it would make it almost impossible for ABSA to stand up and if he did, it would be incredibly dangerous for him. He could slip, in his unsteady state, and damage his leg further. The vets desperately needed him to move to get the weight off his legs and his organs.
On Tuesday afternoon he started moving from side to side which meant that he was taking the weight off his limbs and organs. The vets placed more lucerne soaked with golden syrup close to him in hopes he’d eat it. His daughter was trying to get close to him and the other animals were approaching him to get to his lucerne which made it tricky for the team to operate.
Late on Tuesday afternoon, ABSA had moved just over a metre which was a good sign. He was still moving from side to side however the vet’s prognosis wasn’t great.
WEDNESDAY
Early on Wednesday morning, Aquila asked the twitterverse and their Facebook community if anyone had a contact for six shipping containers. The decision was made by Searl and the vets that ABSA needed to be relocated from the veld and into a makeshift boma built by the containers. They would need to use a crane to lift him onto a truck and then drive him across the road to their rescue centre. It would become a permanent structure at the Aquila Rescue Centre and they would use the inside of the containers as a vet centre. Organisations were encouraged to get involved and have their branding on the containers.
Within the hour, The Foschini Group (@TheFoschiniGroup) had donated all six containers and the operation was ready to take off. The Regional Marketing team at ABSA also offered financial support to aid the safety and security of all the rhinos on Aquila Private Game Reserve.
The vets were protecting ABSA from any kind of additional stress as he became increasingly frustrated by the fact that he couldn’t move. His vital signs were strong, his wound had stopped bleeding but his leg was still a concern. They needed to x-ray it as soon as they could once he settled in the boma.
The call to remove him from the veld into the boma was to regulate his environment – to get him out of the wind and rain and keep the temperature constant. He’d be provided with food and water and wouldn’t be disturbed by other animals trying to get to it.
He was still lying down late into the afternoon. A vehicle drove nearby and checked on him with binoculars. He was lifting his head and was alert to sounds and smells.
The containers started to arrive and the team started putting together the fastest makeshift boma ever made! The vets made a call to move him first thing on Thursday morning. Two of the containers hadn’t arrived my nightfall and it would be tricky conducting such an enormous operation in the dark.
THURSDAY
Absa passed away during the night. Rest in peace big guy. Our condolences go out to Searl, Simone, the vets and everyone who has worked tirelessly since Saturday doing everything they could for him.
DONATIONS
Donations received for the Aquila Rhinos will go towards: increasing the number of trained anti-poaching personnel, the purchase of anti poaching equipment such as bullet proof vests, night vision apparatus, containers for satellite anti-poaching, veterinary offices, increased security, extra night vision and vet fees
ABSA acc no: 9222048554
Branch code: 632005
For more images go to Getaway magazine’s Facebook page.
Click here for the full story of the poaching incident.
Aquila is offering a R100 000 reward for information which could lead to the arrest of the rhino poachers.
Contact Mandi Jarman – 072-256-5531 or owner, Searl Derman – 082-888-8661
Follow @AquilaSafaris #aquilarhino #rhinopoaching or Aquila’s Facebook page.
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