Poachers kill rhinos at Chipangali

By Nduduzo Tshuma

March 27, 2009
The Chronicle

POACHERS raided the country’s leading wildlife orphanage, Chipangali, 25 kilometres east of Bulawayo and killed the only two rhinos — a female and a male.
They dehorned the 10-year-old female rhino, which was four months pregnant and left without dehorning the 28-year-old male.
Speaking in an interview at the orphanage Mrs Nicky Wilson, the daughter-in-law of Chipangali’s founder Mr Viv Wilson, said workers on Tuesday morning discovered that the animals had been killed and alerted her.
“Our worker Sifundo Khumalo discovered the animals and alerted me and then we reported the matter to Hillside Police Station and the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority,” she said.
The poachers got access through the fence separating the orphanage and its game park and darted the animals with a poisonous substance, leading to their death.
“They cut our fence and gained access where they darted the animals with a poisonous substance before dehorning the female rhino and I think they were disturbed by something and left the male with its horns,” said Mrs Wilson.
At the scene, the poachers left the darts they had used to kill the animals.
“The female was actually born and bred in the orphanage and it is sad that the poachers have ended an era of rhinoceros at the Chipangali. Now I do not know if my grandchildren will live to see the rhino,” she said.
Parks officers have since taken the male rhinoceros’ horn.
When the Chronicle newscrew visited the orphanage, it found workers busy skinning the animals.
“We can not use the meat to feed other animals because the poachers used a poisonous substance to kill the rhinos so I guess we will have to burn them but we will keep the skin for the Parks,” said Mrs Wilson.
The orphanage has lost its entire endangered species to poachers.
“We had the painted dogs and other endangered animals but all of them have been killed by poachers,” said Mrs Wilson.
She said poachers have deprived children from acquiring information about the animals.
“They have deprived children of learning about the animals in an institution that is located closer to the city and it is a very sad day for tourism,” said Mrs Wilson.
However, Mrs Wilson said despite the poaching incident they were still positive and are committed to taking Chipangali to greater heights.
“We are here to stay and we are doing everything in our power to build this place and return it to its former glory. We are calling on all those willing to render any form of assistance to come forward and assist,” she said.
Chipangali has been featured in countless documentaries and is now world renowned for its pioneering work and is famed as one of Africa’s largest and most successful wildlife rehabilitation centres.
The wildlife orphanage was established in 1973 by ex-game ranger Viv Wilson and his wife Paddy. Its primary function is to offer a home to orphaned, abandoned and sick wild animals.
The word Chipangali comes from the Chinyanja language in eastern Zambia where Viv originally began his career with the Zambia government as a tsetse-fly control operator. It was where the whole concept of Chipangali was born and derived.
The word means “open friendly country”.
Viv has been the leading instigator of several unique projects, such a 10-year survey of the duikers of Africa, which culminated in the 800-page masterpiece named The Duikers for Africa: Masters of the African floor.
Recently Viv expanded his research activities to include a survey of the leopard and cheetah of Zimbabwe, the biodiversity of the Matopo National Park and the formation of the Carnivore Research Institute (CRI).

This is indeed a sad day. I know a couple of Zimbos that are directly involved in rhino protection and I am sure that they are very upset about this as well. What a loss.