Lots of Visitors for the Northern White Rhinos

The past couple of weeks rolled around with cold, windy weather, with temperatures ranging from a low of 10°C to a high of 17°C. For the northern white rhinos, these temperatures may be slightly reminiscent of their stay in the Czech Republic, but with the cold air came warm company.

We were pleased to welcome various visitors to the home of the four northern whites; Sudan, Fatu, Najin and Suni. The team that was initially involved in the relocation of the northern white rhinos graced us with their presence here at Ol Pejeta.

Berry White, the keeper who had accompanied the northern whites on their trip from Czech Republic to Kenya, returned from Tanzania, where she had been looking after four black rhinos in hopes of reintroducing them into the Serengeti. She took part in the Safaricom Marathon on the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, which is considered to be the 7^th toughest marathon worldwide and completed it in an astounding 5.5 hours. Well done Berry!!! She was pleased to see the progress the northern whites continue to make.

Both Mark Caradwine and Steven Fry, part of the BBC crew filming the series “Last Chance to See” were also part of the group that visited the northern whites while doing a final segment following the success of their series. Pete Morkel also came to pay a visit to the four magnificent mammals. Pete, a vet who had accompanied the northern whites on their voyage to Kenya, came to cast an eye on the progress of the NWR project. This gave us the opportunity to take advantage of his expertise in relation to the black rhino translocation.

The Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service was yet another visitor on Ol Pejeta during the past couple of weeks. It was the Director’s first time to come into contact with the northern whites and he openly expressed his excitement. Mr. Julius Kipng’etich and his team have so far been very instrumental at getting the NWR project off the ground. The Ol Pejeta Conservancy continues to work very closely with the KWS and other conservancies to ensure that our wildlife is safe and well taken care of.

We were also delighted to have Michael Dalton-Smith back on Ol Pejeta for a couple of weeks. Michael has been able to capture the journey of the northern whites in his series of documentaries titled “The Ol Pejeta Diaries.” Having been given a sneak preview of the documentary, the NWR team was quite amazed at how well orchestrated the events leading to the arrival of the northern whites were.

This coming week, we look forward to allowing Sudan and Fatu into the enclosure 400x400m for the first time in an attempt to create a more stimulating environment for breeding. In order for this to happen, we will need to construct an exclusion zone to prevent any visual interaction between them. Najin and Sudan continue to go from strength to strength in their area with limited interaction between the two of them. Although this is the case, Sudan interaction with the southern whites has increased.

We are also proud to announce the introduction of Lola, an orphaned female black rhino. Since her arrival from Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Lola has been well taken care of and carefully monitored by the OPC team, which has greatly increased her feel level of comfort. To keep her from getting lonely, we will make an effort at introducing Lola to Nabur, Ol Pejeta’s orphaned female black rhino.

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“They look a bit like a sabre-toothed sausage,” says Dr Chris Faulkes, as we enter the naked mole rat laboratory at Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL).

Scuttling around in a maze of tubes are dozens of small rodents. They appear to be hairless, covered with wrinkly, pink skin and they have beady, black eyes. But the thing that really catches your attention is their enormous, protruding teeth.

At first glance, it’s clear that Dr Faulkes’ description is spot on.

“It’s a really, really bizarre looking animal,” admits the scientist, who has spent the past 20 years studying naked mole rats.

Read more here.

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Nights Out for the Northern Whites

After the translocation was completed, the team decided it was time to give Sudan, Suni and the girls their first night out in the African bush.

The girls were first. Equipped with warm clothes, a sleeping bag and night vision scope, Berry White headed to the bomas to spend this special night with Najin and Fatu. The door to their bomas was left open all night in case they wanted to return to the safety of the small enclosure, but by morning they showed no signs of wanting to come in.

With the success of this first night for the girls, Sudan’s turn was next and Suni the night after that. Like the girls, Sudan spent the night roaming the bush marking his territory and enjoying the freedom and peace the night brings.  On Wednesday, April 14^th, during Suni’s night out, he was observed exploring new territory down in the thick bush towards the bottom of the paddock, his confidence in the open area is clear to see. Berry and the Ol Pejeta rhino keepers watched with joy as all four were safe and secure, thriving during their evenings out

Brave Boy Suni

On Thursday, April 15^th, after his night out, it was also time for Suni to be reunited with Najin and Fatu since they were last together in Dvur Kralove Zoo. At 8am the girls were let out into the larger camp and happily trotted off to graze near the top of the enclosure. The boma doors were opened a few moments later, and Suni tentatively stepped out.

The girls caught scent of Suni first and Fatu was keen to see him. Suni’s approach to the girls was much gentler than Sudan’s. However, his sheer size and bulk is an intimidating presence putting Najin on instant defence mode. She roared, letting him know she would not be messed with. Suni responded by bouncing and twisting with excitement and enthusiasm. This didn’t necessarily help put Najin at ease but it did not take long before the girls realised he was shy and slightly nervous and did not pose a threat. After several hours observing each other, Suni’s curiosity got the better of him and he occasionally built up the courage to wonder slowly over to the girls only to trot off again as he came close. Over the course of the day, Najin and Fatu started actively pursuing Suni in a very non threatening way, they seemed very accommodating to his sensitive nature – Fatu in particular was just interested in seeing her old friend.

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Read and view more at the BBC website here.

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