I would like to share the following email and letters with you: Dear Braam and Peter,
It was wonderful meeting you both in London and we hope you enjoyed the weekend as much as we did. We trust you both got home safely and have slipped back into the way of life in SA. Both Hazel and I wish to thank you again for the kindness you showed in stopping for Team Centrepoint and helping them. True camaraderie and friendship right there in a nutshell.
Below are the messages I sent to Jason and the Team(s) before, during
Read More About FRIENDS THROUGH ADVERSITY
DID YOU KNOW … There are about 780 species of dung beetle in Southern Africa and they play a vital role in the eco system. There can be a possible 15, 000 beetles in a pile of rhino or elephant dung! The group responsible for rolling the dung balls are the Telecopids. Sometimes it is merely a ‘food ball’ and other times a ‘nuptial ball’. Here, the male deposits the ball into a hole for the female where he will then mate with her. The ‘brood ball’ will have a single egg which is rolled and buried. The
Read More About Get Connected
My brother, Peter, age 47, died tragically on the 30th April. This has been a tough blow for me and my family for a number of reasons. We lost another brother, Marius, at the young age of 41 some years ago. Marius died from a drug overdose and Peter unfortunately, also died from substance abuse. He had apparently fallen and taken a blow to the back of his head. Sadly, he was left outside a friend’s home, while they were there and aware of his state, for over 24 hours and not taken to a hospital. According to
Read More About CHANGE and CHOICE
Today is day 33. The last time we worked on Thandi was 23 days ago and I was very apprehensive at what we might find under the gruesome exterior of her facial injuries. The Kariega team for today’s procedure consisted of 25 individuals on-site but with so many thousands willing her to get well and anxious for news of her progress, we feel like only one small component of this rhino’s support network. Thandi’s Team.
As usual, we gathered before the procedure to go through the plan. An addition to the team today was Dr Gerhard Steenkamp
Read More About Kariega update Tuesday 22h30 4th April
As we direct all our energy into the care of Thandi, the tributes to Themba and the wonderful Kariega team just pour in. We are completely overwhelmed by the comments we have received and I must hasten to add here how important it is to realise that I am just one of many dedicated people who have thrown themselves selflessly at this task. In fact I only spend a fraction of my time on Kariega compared to the rest of the team. Most of what I do for these rhino is on the phone and behind a laptop,
Read More About Kariega update Tuesday 27 March 11pm
Themba’s passing has been desperately tragic and I know that everyone at Kariega is hurting badly having been so intimately involved in his personal struggle to survive. Having deliberated so much about putting him to sleep the day before, his inability to get himself out of the waterhole was a clear indication that he had grown too weak to manage even the simple things he was used to doing.
As I said on day 23 the benefit of hindsight would be the judge of my decisions and now that all information has been revealed, I have to concede
Read More About Kariega update Monday 27 March 11pm
It is with a huge sense of grief that we regret to inform you of the passing of Themba this Sunday morning. In his compromised state he failed to remove himself from a waterhole he had been drinking at. In spite of efforts to assist him he passed away just after 9am. The whole Kariega team is devastated by this loss after such a dedicated effort to save his life. Our heart felt appreciation to all those that have extended their support over the past 3 weeks. We will miss him dearly and re-commit ourselves to keeping his
Read More About Kariega update Sun 25 March, sad news …
The weather on the way to Kariega today couldn’t have been more reflective of the atmosphere concerning the rhino in that place. Sharp rays of bright sunshine pushing through the gloomy dark clouds that came rolling in off the sea nearby. News of Thandi is consistently promising as she spends much of her time with the mother and calf she knows well. Photographic evidence of her facial status has been difficult to come by but her behaviour gives no indication of the need for additional concern. There is no doubt that all these animals whether poached or not,
Read More About Kariega update Fri 23rd March 8pm
Visual sightings of Thandi confirm that she is eating and moving around normally. We still do not have good images of her face so difficult to be sure of her condition but I am comfortable that we can maintain low levels of concern for her. Themba on the other hand has not been moving around very much. He remains close to a large water hole and has been eating although not as much as he was 3 days ago. He has spent some time with his leg in the muddy water and knowing how many open spaces there
Read More About Kariega update Thurs 22nd March 9pm
News from the Kariega team today is that Themba has moved over four hundred meters he has drunk well but is not eating as well as we had hoped. Levels of concern fluctuate between medium to high . This morning he hadn’t moved much and seemed to have taken his session yesterday quite badly but this afternoon he seems a little improved. Some fluid has come from the drainage holes in his leg overnight. Comments from Prof Reyers warn of the possibility of liver infection. We are not in a position to be able to do a liver
Read More About Kariega update Wed 21st March 7pm
