I dream of a Swazi rhino

210 rhinos have been killed in 2012. As I dwell upon this saddening figure I think back to a time before this phenomenon became so widespread and so devastating.

I had the absolute pleasure to visit the Royal Hlane Game Reserve in Swaziland awhile back and every day I dream of those Swazi rhinos. It was at that magnificent spot that I genuinely realised the beauty of these creatures. Although the website mentions a variety of wildlife that can be viewed at the reserve the rhinos are what I remember. Vast in number and varied in size the rhino rule the reserve. I remember sitting in my car with a rhino just a few inches from the window, an oxpecker flitted around his ears irritating him.

Last year two of these magnificent creatures were lost to poachers – the first in almost 20 years – and I hope each day no more are taken. I grew bored of seeing rhino after rhino and longed to see something else of interest in the reserve. It is with regret and guilt that I remember this feeling and I long to return some day to cherish those rhinos. Sitting at a lone waterhole near to reception were no fewer than 12 rhinos, including a mom with a new-born calf. There in the Swazi dry heat and thorn bushes, lay these sleepy giants; they exuded a sense of peace.

It is true that one does not know what one has lost until it is truly gone and I hope this will never be the case. My ode is not to the park but to the glorious rhino that keep me awake at night. I dream of their safety, for selfish reasons so that my children can see them but also for reasons greater than me or my children to come.