Ol Pajeta Conservancy is a great wildlife conservation story. It is a former cattle ranch converted to a wildlife sanctuary. They have a population of over 100 black rhinoceros, and the last two living northern white rhinoceros in existence.
In this post I will concentrate on the rhinos of Ol Pajeta, but in future posts I will share more photos from the park.
Mother and Baby
Seeing this baby rhino suckle its mother gives me some hope that they can be saved. I had never seen a baby rhino before, so getting this close to one was very exciting. As a matter of fact, I have seen quite a few wild rhinos, but I had never been this close to one period.
The mother has the longest and sharpest horn I've ever seen on a rhino. She could easily impale a predator or overly zealous tourist with that thing. Rhino horns are sought after by some Chinese for their purported medicinal properties, and by some Arab nations who carve them into dagger handles.
By the way, their horns are made of keratin, the same stuff human fingernails are made from. Seems like these Chinese would be better served popping a vitamin C tablet, and I've seen some splendid dagger handles carved from ebony. Just some suggestions.
Baby portrait! It was raining when I shot these photos, so you can see the water spots on its back, which already has a coating of dried mud. Large hairless animals like rhinos, elephants, and buffalo coat themselves with mud to protect them against the sun and pests.
Group Shots
Of all the safaris I've been on, this one had the most rhinos just congregating about. I've read that they can be solitary animals, but you wouldn't know it after visiting Ol Pajeta.
When you see annoying people in a safari jeep, don't go away mad, just go away!
A group of rhino take a siesta, while a male rhino in the background patrols the area.
Portraits
We passed pretty close to this guy, he grunted and angled his head down in warning. If there's one thing that can ruin your day, it's getting charged by an angry rhino.
Here's a little black rhinoceros trivia. They are considered critically endangered but their population is increasing per the IUCN. An adult can reach 6 feet tall and weigh over 3000 pounds. The total population in the wild is around 5,000, compared to around 20,000 for the southern white rhinoceros. Ironically black and white rhinos are the exact same color, but you can tell a black rhino from a white rhino by the shape of their lips. Blacks have pointed lips, while whites have square lips. [src]
Please allow me to introduce to you Baraka. Some years ago, Baraka lost one eye in a fight. A time later, he lost sight in the other eye due to cataracts. He is now kept in his own personal pen, and acts as the park's rhino ambassador. Visitors can feed him by hand as well has pet him. I never thought I'd be able to touch a rhinoceros, but I was able to pat him on the head, grab his horn and say "good boy". Yes I entertained some delusions of having a pet rhino named spot.
The Last Two Northern Whites
This is one of the two last northern white rhinos in existence. They are both females named Fatu and Najin. After it was determined white rhinos were extinct in the wild, four rhinos were brought to Ol Pajeta from Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic. The two females were brought to Ol Pajeta, along with two males named Suni and Sudan, in hopes the conditions would be more favorable to mating.
This is probably the saddest part of the whole trip, the rhino graveyard. There were so few rhinos left, the park would name them. When they die, they get a gravestone.
The graves of the last two male northern white rhinoceros, Suni and Sudan. Sudan was the last hope for these rhinos actively mating. He died in 2018. The good new is, they still have a chance. This year, eggs harvested from the females have been fertilized with previously frozen sperm from deceased males. Though extinct in the wild, the story of the northern white rhinoceros might not end with these two ladies.
If your interested in learning more or supporting efforts to save the northern white rhinoceros. Please watch the video below and consider donating via their website: https://donate.olpejetaconservancy.org/. Another great way so support their efforts is to go to Kenya and pay them a visit. Ol Pajeta has a great lodge you can stay at with a fabulous buffet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=96&v=ER0CdyZjkhs
Thanks for dropping by! I hope that you enjoyed my travel photos and commentary, and will return for more travel content in the future.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://joshman.com/the-rhinos-of-ol-pajeta-conservancy-kenya
Witnessing these animals in the wild does make one wonder why humans are poaching them for a horn, after all they can chew their own nails for the same effect, or go buy viagra!
Watching them roaming on the African savannas is breath taking!
For sure, it's such a senseless tragedy. Thanks for dropping by!
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I have always dreamed of going on a safari and it seems as though you have been on several. I'm a bit jealous! That must have been a fantastic experience. It is truly tragic the way that these creatures have been hunted to near extinction and I might be mistaken but i seem to remember a story in the past year or so about the last remaining white male rhino dying not long ago? I could be wrong.
I have heard these trips are relatively expensive... since you've done it, can you confirm?
I hope you make more posts like this because that was just awesome.
I've lived and worked in Africa for a few years so it's been fairly convenient to go on them. I think everyone should go on one at least one, because it helps you understand how challenging and complicated it is to conserve these animals and habitats. You are right, the last northern white rhino Sudan passed away last year. His grave stone is pictured.
The price really depends on the length of the trip and the ease of access. Ol Pajeta was relatively close to Nairobi, so a 2-day trip was about $500 per person for 2 people. Nairobi National Park is right next to the city, and you can do a game drive for about $100. A 12-day safari going to a few parks will cost you about $3500 a person. It gets a bit cheaper if you book more than 2 people.
If you are interested in researching some, this is a great company: https://www.naturaltoursandsafaris.com/
I'm glad you enjoyed the post, and thanks for your comments!
Those prices sound considerably smaller than what I had imagined. Very doable. Hopefully I'll be able to make it one day because who wouldn't enjoy that? Thanks for the very helpful reply :)
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Damn. Must be quite an experience being so close to these animal.
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For sure, it made the trip totally worth it.
I have never had the opportunity to be close up to these awesome huge rhinos i hope to do one of those safari trips in the near future it is on my bucket list i love the way they are so well loved having there own personal rhino graveyard that's really cool. Thanks for sharing this story i did enjoy reading it 👍
Thanks, it's a shame there is so few that you can actually name each one and have a graveyard for them. It would be impossible to have a graveyard for zebras. Hopefully they can turn it around.
I hate seeing that cruelty for greed , hope it does turn around some day 👍
There are supposedly still a few rhinos left in the forests of Vietnam, but definitely all gone in Cambodia.
I read the Asian ones are very small and only have one horn!
@joshman, this is a great article! Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures with us!
Great job!
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Much appreciated, and you're most welcome!
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