Not long after the rhino baby was born, the first since at least 30 years in the entire country, did I visit the only such sanctuary in Uganda in the company of the RFU chairman Dirk ten Brink, who had called a board meeting of the Rhino Fund to not just celebrate the event but map out the way forward. The drive from Kampala takes now less than 2 ½ hours for the 160km on a well near perfect highway, and once turning off the main road towards the sanctuary it is a mere 10 KM to the sanctuary head quarters and visitors information centre.
On arrival I was pleased to learn that the entrance fees previously charged are now waived for not just locals but also overseas visitors, and the only payment due is an affordable 20 US Dollars per person for a guided tracking tour to the rhinos, which can take up to half a day including transportation from and to the visitor centre. The tourists can spend anywhere between half an hour to an hour with the rhinos, of course at a safe distance.


(Rhino Fund Uganda / Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary Executive Director Angie Genade,
flanked by UWA Executive Director Moses Mapesa – also a RFU board member –
and the RFU Chairman Dirk ten Brink)
 
The 6 adult rhinos were less than two weeks ago joined by the first new born calf, and while at Ziwa confirmation was finally given to me that the two other females are also pregnant with their expected delivery dates around October or November this year for baby number two and March – April 2010 for baby number three. This will eventually bring the total number of rhinos in the sanctuary to 9 by the first half of next year. The female rhinos will then look after the little ones for between 2 and 3 years before weaning them off and getting ready to have more ‘babies’.
 



(‘Nandi’ the ‘Rhino Mum’, formerly of the Disney Animal Kingdom in Florida and the newly born rhino calf, pictures provided by Angie Genade on behalf of RFU / Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary)
 
This considered, it was great news to learn from the executive director and the board that indeed up to 12 southern white rhinos will be added to the sanctuary from South Africa – the total carrying capacity is estimated to be in the 50+ region – by the end of this year, after arrangements have been made with the assistance of the government of Uganda and the Uganda Wildlife Authority towards a relocation. Assurance was also given that of the 12 at least 8 are expected to females, probably as many as 10, so that the rhino bulls can finally form their own separate breeding groups, leading to a faster rate of reproduction and allowing the ultimate goal of RFU and the Ziwa Sanctuary to come true earlier than thought, the eventual relocation of rhinos from the sanctuary into their former habitat. This is expected to happen initially in Murchisons Falls National Park and the Kidepo Valley National Park, where at that time special areas will be set aside so that the rhinos can then enjoy 24/7 protection.
These developments will be exciting news for the Ugandan tourism sector, and while Ziwa’s visitor numbers have already tripled over the past 12 months, attributed to the new facilities available for tourists and the waiving of the entrance fees, this upswing in visits is thought to take another massive boost from the news that the breeding programme of the RFU has born fruits and a rhino baby can soon be seen by ‘normal’ visitors too.


(Tourists arriving at the sanctuary for tracking the rhinos)
 
Executive Director Angie Genade was providing a broad overview to this correspondent about current developments, the planned addition of new facilities and the challenges her management team is facing. In the process she also let it slip that an agreement with Kenya is just about to be ready for signing, under which initially 4 eastern black rhinos will be given to Ziwa ‘on loan’, to be returned after about a decade, after which the ‘offspring’ will remain behind in Uganda to form a nucleus for an ongoing breeding programme, aimed to also re-introduce the eastern black type to the country.
 

(Two of the bungalows available for visitor accommodation on the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary)
 
While at the sanctuary the issue of staff welfare was also discussed and it was noted that the recently upgraded staff accommodation was indeed of good quality, while at the same time the father in law of Angie, visiting from South Africa, had started to prepare a vegetable patch aimed to supplement the staff’s food supply from own production, a remarkable gesture, and according to the staff much appreciated. For additional information write to angie@rhinofund.org or even better, make time for a visit to Uganda and include Ziwa in your safari itinerary, as there is nothing better than a personal experience.
 

(Pictures of the recently rehabilitated staff housing and the newly introduced
vegetable garden)