Stork calls in at reserve

KWAZULU Natal Nature Conservation Service (NCS) staff in the Ophathe Game Reserve near Ulundi are celebrating the birth of its first black rhino calf, following the recent introduction of five animals from the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park to supplement the one animal already there. The officer in charge of Ophathe, Abednigo Nzuza, says his staff are monitoring the cow and calf by careful tracking. Earlier, staff had reported seeing a "warthog-size" calf running at the heel of an adult female black rhino. "We are really pleased that our new arrival is doing well," says Nzuza. (Adéle Mackenzie)