Operation Rhino Pick-Up

Black rhinos are one of the most endangered species in the world and, as aforementioned in a previous post, continue to dwindle due to poaching.
We had the opportunity to take part in an operation to sedate and transport a baby rhino that had been shot and needed medical attention. The World Wildlife Foundation spearheaded the operation and brought in the Calvary to get the job done.
A team had been sent into the bush to track and dart the baby rhino. The problem, her mother was not keen to have her child taken by a swarm of people. Once the baby rhino was sedated the mother went astray and a plane circled above to make sure she didn't charge the operation while we were on the ground. Apparently the baby rhino was darted before and given antibiotics to heal a gunshot wound to the leg but the infection persisted and the leg was far from healed. We hopped in the trucks and offroaded to the sight of the rhino to see if we could lend a hand. I lent two trying to lift a heavy 18 month old rhino into a pick up truck. Glenton flew his leopard painted helicopter into the site incase she needed to be airlifted but his service was not needed. The rhino went with the government vet to a clinic to be further evaluated.
I've come to find out that this baby rhino was subsequently put down. Her leg was beyond saving and with and amputated leg she would never survive in the wild. I felt sorry for her mother that had to witness her daughter shot and captured twice by the men with guns. Perhaps one day the mother will be shot and dehorned as well but until that day, I hope she charges with all her fury at anyone who comes to try and take her too. What really sickens me though, rhino horns are regenerable. They are made of keratin, the same thing your fingernails are comprised of. You could dart a rhino, cut off its $100,000+ horn and find it in another two years with a horn of equal size. The problem, economics. Keep supplies low and stockpiled then the demand and price rise.

A Walk In The Woods

Robbie and I did a bit of anti-poaching/game sighting in the bush of the Save Conservancy. I'm usually opposed to walking aimlessly in the woods. I'm just opposed to walking actually. But at the prospect if spotting lion, giraffe, elephants and various African wildlife, I was keen to romp around. Plus, Rob gave me a shotgun to carry around and a cutoff safari button up. What more could a kid ask for!
Rhino and elephant poaching is huge in southern Africa. Hence the reason rhinos have been rapidly climbing the endangered species list. Just a week before I arrived in Zim, a rhino was killed just a few miles from the Davy house and dehorned (that's all poachers want us the horn. Its a natural aphrodisiac and supposedly the Asians make medicines and wines with it. It must get them horny... Get it?). Anyways, the rhino was killed using an AK 47 automatic machine gun... The same kind the Zimbabwean military uses if you catch my drift. While Rob and I were getting locked and loaded he looked at me rather serious and said, "it's unlikely to happen but if someone starts shooting at us we need to split in opposite directions, find out where the shots are coming from and shoot back." In my head I thought, "ya I'm gunna split alright but I ain't sticking around for a shoot out with some crooked poachers. I'm gettin the fuck out of here!" In a more austere tone I replied, "Are we shooting to kill or to scare?" I was delighted to find out that any situation is circumstantial but scaring would come before killing. Fortunately for all parties, no poachers were encountered and no shots were fired.
Instead, we spotted some zebra butts as they ran away and a few fresh lion doodies next to a recently killed impala. We followed the tracks for a bit but never caught sight of any lions. The giraffes we saw were in the form of skeletons which are surprisingly impressive in and of their own.
We trekked for a few hours in the beautiful Zimbabwean morning, caught some rays, and learned a little something about African wildlife. Not your typical morning stroll but it definitely got the blood pumping.

A World Of Wonder

Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. As a world traveler, it only seemed right to have a look. I hope these pictures do it justice.

The Alien

There are about 14 million people in Zimbabwe of which less than 10,000 are white. I guess I've never really known what it was like to be the minority group but I'm proud to say that I have indeed been the only white person at the party. I now sympathize with the "token black guy."
We took a drive to a very rural village near the Zambia border and poked our heads into the communities primary school. I smiled, said hello and even tried the small bit of Shona language that know. Not a word. Not even smiles really. Just a room full of blank stares and timid looks. I asked my friend Shepherd why they were so shy. He said, "you're probably the first white person they've ever seen." "Are you shitting me? This is the 21st century" I said in amazement. "You're pretty far out in the bush right now" he replied. "This is rural Zimbabwe. Not many people pass through here."
I felt like I was on the Discovery Chanel or in a National Geographic magazine. As globalized as the world may be, there are still pockets of these sort of untouched communities that haven't ever seen someone of a different race. In that moment, the world seemed to still be a bit uncharted.

Inflation Nation

Zimbabwe went through a devastating economic crash starting in 2001 when the government seized all farmland and essentially shut down all exports and most of the jobs in the country. The Zimbabwean dollar started to inflate and by 2007 inflation got so bad that they began printing $100 trillion bills. Zimbabwe, shortly after, became the laughing stock in world economics and subsequently decided to scrap the Zimbabwean dollar all together to adopt the US dollar which is still used today.
The economy is still struggling to recover but at least people aren't buying groceries with $100 trillion dollar bills.

The African Trophy Room

I can't say I've ever really seen a trophy room. If you asked me to define a trophy room I'd tell you it would be an ornately decorated room consisting of gold chalice looking structures mounted on fine wood with engravings to commemorate a specific accomplishment. There would be autographed memorabilia and large medals framed and hung on a wall.
The African trophy room is designed to commemorate great accomplishments as well but the artifacts that fill the African trophy room, well those are a bit more...bulky.
The Nesbit Castle in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe hosts an impressive trophy room filled with alligators, impala, leopards, elephants, warthogs, zebra, and a 25 foot long python skin. Now that redefines a trophy room.

Watch Your Step

Yes, that's a zebra skin carpet I have in my bedroom. Welcome to Zimbabwe.

The Dark Continent

There's one road that will get us back to the entrance on Gona Rezhou conservancy. This road happened to be occupied by a heard of wild elephant. Some were off to the side looking for food but one male, a particularly large male of an already massive species, appeared to be the gate keeper for this road. Our vehicle rounded a bend to find him staring at us with two bayonet tusks and flat ears that he flexed to signal a warning. "Thomas, I think you need to reverse now" said Lin in a rather calm voice. Our guide, Thomas, pulled off a safari style 3 point turn and headed back the way we came. Meanwhile mr. Elephant let out a mean roar and toppled over nearby bush to let us know we weren't welcome. We parked hidden by some bush and waited to see what the elephant would do. He trotted along the road and ended up parallel to us and turned his back. Time to go. Thomas spun around and crept behind the already agitated elephant. We were spotted. Mr. Elephant let out another roar, put his head down to begin his charge. The other elephants noticed our altercation and also roared a harmonious "get the hell out of here!" We sped along the dirt road and the elephant charge desisted. Crisis averted.
It's amazing how the world can change in 17 hours. I was hoping I wouldn't have to fly everywhere I wanted to go but man, what a time machine those things are. I sifted through the Asian invasion at Bangkok airport and stood in line at the Ethiopian Airline counter ready to embark on a new part of the world. The city was dark and I was exhausted so I fell asleep before the plane even left the gate. I opened my eyes to a star spotted sky and guessed that we must be sailing somewhere over the Indian Ocean. I fell back asleep only to be awoken when breakfast was served. The sun was just coming up as we touched down in Ethiopia. I stepped onto the runway and felt a chill come over my body. Well it gets chilly in Africa. Who would have guessed!
One flight, two flights and there I was in Harare, Zimbabwe. I traded in the smelly streets, lady boys, tuk tuks, hagglers, rice and noodles for the dark continent. I got my bag and stepped out the front door of Harare airport and into the low afternoon sun. "Hahaha, and now I'm in Africa," I thought to myself. What a trip.