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Update on Tatenda
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF)
January 20, 2008

We apologize to those concerned for the delay in sending out this report but this is due to the recent tragic shooting of Tusker the elephant.

Thanks to those of you who responded to our appeal for assistance to feed Tatenda, the little rhino who was orphaned due to the slaughter of 3 black rhino at Imire Game Park in November last year, he is thriving.

A big thank you to Brian Jones of the Kruger National Park in South Africa who donated 100kg of fat free skimmed milk powder. Urs and Linda Honegger of Animal Talk Magazine in South Africa really went beyond the call of duty and drove all the way from Johannesburg to Harare to deliver the milk powder. They also personally donated a quantity of glucose and Protexin, a vitamin essential to the well - being of the little rhino. Thank you very much Urs and Linda.

Linda and Urs arrived in Harare on the 7th December and on the 8th, we escorted them to Imire to meet Tatenda and shower him with his gifts.

We also delivered 10 teats donated by Colleen Redfern of Bulawayo and 25kg of glucose powder donated by Agnes of Willowmead Junction. (Sorry Agnes, we don't know your surname). Thank you very much to Colleen and Agnes.

We went back to Imire to visit Tatenda a month later and we noticed a big difference in his size. He is taller and has put on a lot of weight.

Tatenda consumes 60kg of milk powder and 24kg of glucose per month and he has almost gone through the entire 100kg of milk that was donated to him. We therefore extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Clover Milk Company of South Africa who have donated a further 300kg of milk for him. If anyone can assist with more glucose powder, this would be greatly appreciated.

There are a handful of very special people in Zimbabwe. These are people who, with limited financial resources, devote their lives to the preservation of wildlife, not for financial gain, but because they have a deep understanding of the importance of doing this. This is especially true of people like the Travers family of Imire Game Park, who are trying, in an extremely difficult economic climate, to preserve the very few black rhino we have left. The black rhino is an endangered species and the importance of the selfless task they have undertaken, cannot be overstated. In addition to caring for little Tatenda, they are also desperately trying to ensure the safety of the 3 adult rhinos they are left with. They do not "own" these special animals - they are merely their caretakers.

The 3 remaining rhino have the freedom of the game park during the day, although they have armed guards following them at all times. To ensure their safety at night, they are led into pens where they sleep. The Travers need to erect 6 floodlights around the pens and the game fence around the boundary of Imire, an area of 4 800 hectares, has to be replaced in order to protect the rhino as well as the other animals. They also need to sink a borehole capable of producing 200 litres of water for 10 hours a day to provide drinking water for the rhino and they have had to employ additional security guards. The cost of all these preventative measures is astronomical. If anyone is in a position to assist with any of these requirements, please contact us - contact details below.

Another special person has requested our assistance. Janie Style lives in Buffalo Range and she is taking care of two six-month old rhinos named Carla and Lisa Marie. Carla's mother was shot and killed and little Carla was shot through her shoulders and chopped on her face with a panga (a large knife). Lisa Marie was caught in a snare and almost lost her back foot but Janie has nursed the 2 young rhinos back to health. She is still bottle-feeding them but she is finding it very difficult to cope financially. She desperately needs skimmed milk powder and Pronutro. We would be very grateful if anyone can assist her.

My daughter, Brigitte Rodrigues and David Scobie are a singing duo known as "Brogue". They have released their first CD, "Rhythm of the Celts" which is doing very well in the UK and Europe.They donate part of the proceeds from their cd sales towards the preservation of wildlife in Zimbabwe so those of you who would like to help towards conservation and listen to beautiful music at the same time, please go into their website and listen to their music - www.broguemusic.com. If you would like to order a copy of their cd, you can either do so on their website, or you can contact us.

Visit the ZCTF fact sheet

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