Mom, can I get my ears pierced?

A couple weeks ago I got to witness a rhino being ear notched. Ear notching is a medical procedure where the vet makes an incision in the ear of the rhino, creating a permanent and unique pattern that is used by Lewa personnel to identify each individual. Once notched, the rhinos are more easily recognizable by the rangers, and thus more easily protected and monitored. Rhinos are notched according to their ID code, so that no two rhino can ever have the same pattern. Although it is an expensive operation, being able to recognize individual rhinos is critical to their protection and the gathering of pertinent biological data. From the research perspective, being confident about the breeding performance of individual rhinos is important for predicting overall population trends.

Finding the rhino in question and getting close enough to dart it was the most time consuming part of the process. For rhinos the vet does darting on foot. Elephants you can approach from a vehicle but rhinos usually run away. But HELLO: darting on foot is dangerous! Accompanied by an armed ranger, the vet must approach from downwind and hopefully once darted the rhino wont charge. I have heard stories of when rhinos did charge and the vets and the rangers all had to make a break for it, diving into trees, etc.

After the rhino had been darted it still had a lot of energy. It started running away, and had to be followed by a spotter plane in the air, that was shepherding the rhino away from areas of the conservancy that the vet wouldn’t be able to access once the rhino went down (i.e. thick forest or steep valleys). The rhino finally began to slow down in the perfect spot: a clear, wide, dried out watering hole. The rangers tied ropes around its ankles because they didn’t want it to fall over to one side, instead then wanted it to sort of just sit down with its body in an upright position. As all the people available pulled on the ropes to slow the rhino down, but it was so big and strong it just kept walking along as if nothing was happening, as if it didn’t even notice. Finally after the tranquilizer kicked in, the team got the rhino into the right position. They covered its eyes with a cool, wet towel and proceeded to carry out the operation.

It was a crowded scene because there was a film crew there doing a promotional piece on the conservancy, and the vet’s intern had her brother visiting. That’s the thing with veterinary outings: they’re exciting and everybody wants to go. I know I do!

Getting prepared:


Looking at the booklet to find out which pattern this rhino will have:


Out to the field to dart on foot, as a rhino bystander walks by:


Big, strong rhino doesn't care about the tiny people:





The towel makes the rhino stop walking around because it can't see:


Finally down, we have to be quick:


Marking the pattern:



Why am I standing a meter away? Because I am a scaredy-cat, that's why.


About to administer the reversal drug, everybody back to their vehicles!


Get up, stand up...


The vet car cleaning up as she wanders away: