The original post was done on 2012/02/15
I had been reading up about the concept and then implication of poisoning live rhino's horns. I thought then it was a good plan and still do. After I wrote this article the lady that invented the means to do this successfully and I became friends. She invited me, years later to go on a mission with her. As you will read below, Lorinda Hern did not have an easy time of it.
Rhino Wars – Inner Fighting and Spencer the Rhino
I find it very sad that the very people that are trying to help our
Rhino are coming under attack from other groups of people that claim
that they too are fighting for the survival of the Rhino. I strongly
feel that ALL groups and individuals that are collecting money for this
cause should be held accountable for moneys received and practice
transparency in their organizations; and shall not remain quiet on this
issue as it is as dangerous for the Rhino as the poachers themselves.
Recently a lady that has all of the above came under attack when a
very tragic incident occurred, a classic case of, “ When bad things
happen to good people” as far as I am concerned. She writes about the
incident in the heartbreaking letter below. I have also taken the
liberty of putting in a reply she received from the famous Dr. Ian
Player.
Wayne Bisset.
“As you can probably well imagine, the past three nights were fraught
with much reflection, a crushing sense of loss and endless “would have,
could have, should have” questions. I woke up with the realization
today that, if I were given the opportunity to perform this particular
procedure again, there was not a single thing I would have changed or
done differently. By anyone’s standards, Spencer’s horn treatment was
the perfect procedure – from start to finish, everything ran absolutely
smoothly; a fact to which I believe every person present on the day can
attest. No less than five wildlife veterinarians, unrelated to the
project, concluded that negligence or incompetence played no role in the
animal’s death. Dr. Joseph Okori from the WWF and Dr. Brett Garnder
from the Johannesburg Zoo in fact said the procedure was performed with
great professionalism. To be honest, I myself did not realize disaster
had struck until I sat down to do the media briefing after and received
the devastating news: “We’ve lost him”. Stupidly, in that instant, I had
an “ER moment” – I was convinced we could resuscitate our unresponsive
patient with a shot of adrenalin or a heart massage… had it not been for
the fact that the “patient” weighed in at a hefty two tons, I think I
would actually have tried.
I have unfortunately become, from one day to the next and certainly
not by choice, a rhino owner in a very unique position: I have lost an
animal due to poaching and I have lost animal in an attempt to protect
it from poaching. Although the emptiness and grief is the same, I am at
peace with Spencer’s passing in a way I was not with Queenstown’s. You
see, my sadness over Queenstown was punctuated with feelings of guilt
and shame that we had not done enough to protect her. With Spencer, I am
comforted in the knowledge that we could have done no more for him.
I am sure many will question the need for this procedure, and why we
invited the press to attend it. These are valid questions. Some time
ago, we received information that Spencer was a potential poaching
target, as he did not form part of our initial treatment sample and was
therefore vulnerable. We had reason to believe that he was in danger and
scheduled the treatment accordingly. Such is my belief in this project,
all the research we have done and the number of successful treatments
we had performed previously (we have even treated pregnant cows before –
all of whom are in perfect health, as well as their calfs) that I was
happy to have the media attend, given that so many had expressed an
interest before in seeing what exactly the treatment entails. We were
certainly not engaging in any activity we were embarrassed about or did
not want recorded. I believed openness and transparency about the
procedure would debunk many of the myths that still surround it, hence
our willingness to engage with the press.
In my mind, we could only ever have handled the ensuing tragedy by
telling the truth. Although I will gladly admit that running away was a
very attractive (albeit completely unrealistic) alternative as sheer
panic set in. The truth is that, in this industry, losing animals under
anaesthesia is not uncommon. In fact, losing humans under anaesthesia is
not uncommon either. Rhinos especially, are very sensitive to sedatives
and these animals are often lost during relocations, dehornings or
other medical procedures. Whenever an animal is immobilized for whatever
reason, the possibility exists that said animal might not regain
consciousness. Needless to say, this does not mean we should no longer
perform medical procedures on animals, only that we be aware of the
risks involved every time we do.
On the surface, Spencer appeared to be in excellent health, and the
risk of immobilizing him was a calculated one. His heart rate was
monitored throughout the procedure and did not fluctuate greatly at all –
indicating he wasn’t getting overly stressed. He was turned once during
the procedure to ensure that he did not cut off the blood supply to his
limbs by laying with his full weight on them for too long, and the
procedure was scheduled for early in the morning to reduce the risk of
the animal “over heating”. Spencer was darted from a helicopter and all
went smoothly with the initial sedation – he did not have to be chased
down. He went down approximately 6 minutes after the dart was inserted.
His eyes and ears were then covered and plugged to keep his stress
levels to a minimum. A DNA sample was harvested, after which the
infusion equipment was attached to the horn. This device infuses all of
the horn’s “tubules” with a bright pink dye (which makes it impossible
to smuggle the dye out of any major port with scanning equipment) and an
ectoparasiticide to protect the animal against ticks (rhinos in
captivity, where there are often not many Ox-Peckers, are very
attractive targets to ticks). Lastly, a tracking device was inserted and
the holes in the horns sealed with an epoxy mixture. During the
procedure, Spencer was shivering and twitching (called “paddling”, which
is a normal response to anaesthesia) and snorting loudly from time to
time, with spittle collecting in the corners of his mouth (also a normal
reaction to anaesthesia). It is believed that he, for the first time,
developed heart arythmia when the wake-up drug was administered, after
which he simply did not regain consciousness.
It was only after the veterinary team failed to revive him that a
preliminary post-mortem examination was performed during which it was
revealed that Spencer had a particularly high body fat percentage. This,
coupled with his age (he was in his twenties) could possibly have
brought about his negative reaction to the anaesthetic. We are still
waiting for the toxicology, hematology and histopathology testing to be
completed by scientists at Onderstepoort and will give feedback on the
results as soon as we can. However, I can categorically state that the
horn treatment was in no way responsible for, or a contributing factor
to, Spencer’s passing. Were it not for a poaching situation that will
cause the species to go extinct between the next 5 to 8 years, rhino
owners would not have to resort to counter-measures like horn
treatments, dehorning or relocation (all of with involve immobilization
of the animal) to keep our rhino’s safe. Even a full-time anti-poaching
unit (which we also have on the property) is not a guarantee against
poaching.
What happened was, and remains, a humbling experience. Bad things
happen to good people all the time, and we are not exempt from our share
of suffering. I am sure that we will face many vindictive attacks about
Spencer in days and weeks to come. However, we shall continue the work
we are doing with the same level of integrity we always have. I am happy
to answer any questions anyone may have about Spencer or the treatment.
We still believe that the relative small risk involved in sedating an
animal versus the big risk of leaving that animal unprotected from
poaching in any one way, shape or form, is a justifiable one. Insurance
companies believe the same thing – they are willing to insure animals
who need to be immobilized for medical procedures, but they are seldom
willing to insure animals against poaching. In over 500 prior
procedures, our wildlife vet, Dr. Charles van Niekerk had never before
lost a rhino under anaesthetic. His sense of loss is probably even
greater than my own.
Spencer’s passing is a stark reminder that rhino poaching is one crime that leaves little room for happy endings.”
Lorinda Hern.
The reply by Dr Player.
My dear Lorinda,
Thank you for your email. Nil deperandum. In wild life conservation
these things happen and often for a good reason although at the time
hard to understand. I presume it was the drug m99 that vet used. It is
very powerful and can adversely affect the heart. This should show up if
there was a autopsy. Dont give up, get back onto the horse and look at
what positive can come out of it. It does bring the plight of the rhino
into dramatic focus and shows you were doing your best to help the whole
rhino cause. In my case it took a long time to get over the death of
the rhino I darted but I learnt a lot from the experience, not the least
being how mean and spiteful people can be. I also learnt who my friends
were. All his encouraged me in my work and operation rhino went on to
become a great success story. If you ever read my book The White Rhino
Saga you will see what had to be overcome. But as Maqubu Nttombela
always used to say. We are doing the work of God and sometimes (he or
she) makes it hard so we can learn. He was a very wise old man I tell
the full story of him in my book Zululand Wilderness Shadow and Soul.
You are doing your best and have always done so so you can sleep with an easy conscience.
Cheer up and take care;
Yours,
Ian Player
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