Following the tragic poaching incident at Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve in December 2021 – a crime that left four rhino dead and a fifth pregnant cow badly injured – Aquila Collection owner, Searl Derman, was excited to make an announcement: “I am elated to announce that, not only have arrests been made within days of the incident back in December, but the surviving rhino gave birth to a healthy baby rhino boy on April 30.”
“Under the guidance and supervision of specialist and renowned veterinarian Douw Grobler, the injured female was constantly monitored, and finally stabilised enough to perform a series of reconstructive procedures to reassemble parts of her face that had been badly injured by a close-range high calibre rifle shot,” explained Derman.
He added: “During those first few days following the despicable crime, several arrests were also made by the South African Police Service supported by Cape Nature, and the private investigative teams that were deployed minutes after confirmation of the incident.”
In a miraculous turnaround of events, one of the Inverdoorn rangers, out on an early morning game drive, spotted a new-born white rhinoceros struggling in an aardvark hole.
The anti-poaching team and management were immediately notified and the Aquila 24-Hour Rapid Rhino Response Team (a privately funded and managed unit that was established to locate, rescue and rehabilitate any orphaned rhinos from private game reserves throughout South Africa) was activated.
“The onsite team managed to pull the baby rhino free from the hole without any injury, and identified it as a baby male rhino calling for his mother,” said Derman.
Tears of joy from the management and reserve teams followed as they managed to reunite him with his mother who was then identified as the surviving rhino from the horrendous poaching incident that took place at Inverdoorn in December 2021.
For the safety of the rhino, and the survival of the calf, the baby and mother will be monitored over the upcoming days by the 24-hour Rapid Rhino Response Team to ensure the baby and mother bond. Thereafter, guests visiting Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve just outside of Cape Town, might just have the bucket-list privilege of spotting the mother and baby on a game drive experience.
