Conservation Activity: Rhino Notching
Help protect our rhinos and get a once in a life time experience!
Book this once-in-a-lifetime experience completely private for you and your fellow travelers and make an important contribution to the protection of rhinos in Madikwe Game Reserve.
The activity is conducted either in the morning or in the afternoon as part of a regular game drive. At the meeting point you will be introduced to the reserve's conservation team, veterinarian and helicopter pilot.
You will find out more about the challenges of rhino poaching – which unfortunately also affects us in Madikwe Game Reserve – and the different protection concepts, and receive a briefing on the planned activity: rhino notching.
South African poaching explained
South Africa holds the majority of the world’s rhinos and has been the country hit hardest by poaching criminals, with more than 1,000 rhinos killed each year between 2013 and 2017.
In 2022, 448 rhinos were killed in South Africa, a decrease of three compared to 2021. Thankfully, it’s still a decline, but with a rhino poached in the country every 20 hours, it’s not time for celebration.
Then there is the action: you will witness the search for a rhino via helicopter, from where the animal is darted and immobilised. Now, you can approach the animal on the ground.
The work then begins and your active participation is required. Blood and samples from the horn and tail are taken, and, with a bit of luck, you implant a microchip through the rhino's thick skin. The vet will then cut (“notch”) the rhino's ears in a unique pattern so that they can be identified in the future.
Finally, you will give the rhino an injection to wake it up and will see it disappear back into the bush.
- Duration: one to two hours (during game drive)
- Cost: R72 760 for the group
- Minimum three weeks advance booking required.
There are other interactive conservation activities available on request.
