Rhino tracking in Zimbabwe

So from Bulawayo, we headed to Matopos National Park. The scenery here is very different from anything else we have previously seen - lots of  long grass, thick bush, big boulders and crazy rock formations. Apparently there are more leopard here per square kilometre than anywhere else in Africa but they are such elusive creatures that of course we didn't see any. The guide at camp said he had seen just four in the past six months. The main purpose of our visit here was to track rhinos, although we also did some walking to view some rock paintings and visit a local village. It was great fun climbing up rocks and enjoying the stunning views.

So on to the rhinos. We spent an afternoon driving round the park finding tracks and droppings so that we could then pick up a trail and follow the rhino on foot. Our guide was brilliant and so informative. Sadly we didn't ever manage to track down a rhino but then there are only 11 left in the park. The poaching of these creatures is rife and numbers are declining so quickly that if it continues then there simply will be no rhino (either black or white) left in Africa in five years time. We saw two skeletons - one had died of natural causes but the other had been shot by poachers. You could clearly see the bullet hole through the brain and the face had been hacked off so that the poachers could quickly escape with the horn.

Five years ago, there were 86 rhino in this park but in January this year alone, 11 rhino were shot and killed by poachers. There are 120 people patrolling the park who are authorised to shoot and kill anyone suspected of poaching. On average, they catch / kill around 20-25 poachers per month, but still this does not deter them. The sole reason for killing rhino is for its horn and a poacher will get about $1000 for a horn. This doesn't seem like a great deal of money considering you are risking your life but then the average monthly income in Zimbabwe is just $30 and unemployment is around 95%. These are desperate people. The actual sellers of the horn will make up to half a million US dollars for a few kilos. Whilst the sale of rhino horn is illegal, there is a huge black market because Chinese and Asian people believe that rhino horn is an aphrodisiac..

In an attempt to deter poachers, a few years back they de-horned all the rhino in the park. However, even this failed because a small stump of horn is left and it will ultimately grow back. The poachers were still prepared to kill even for a very small amount of horn.

Now we are in Antelope Park where the TV documentary "Lion Country" was filmed. Here for a couple of days so I'll update on that tomorrow assuming internet is still working. Off horse riding this afternoon and hoping not to be chased by lions!