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| Location: |
Africa - Southern Africa - Zimbabwe |
| Subject: |
Management |
| Species: |
African Rhino Species |
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Research in Hwange, Zimbabwe. The first of their findings is that that frequent immobilisation of black rhino, which has been carried out routinely to fit or replace radio collars, has resulted in reduced fertility in the female black rhino by about 40% as shown by an increase of the inter calving interval between pregnancies. It is thought that the stress associated with darting can cause absorption of the foetus or abortion. The second finding related to the unreliability of the radio collaring. 83% of the radio collars on white rhino failed within 7 months and 63% of collars placed on black rhino failed within 5 months. These results included collars that were too tight and were cutting into rhinos causing serious injuries to the neck and had to be removed, requiring another immobilisation. These findings raised the whole question about the risks, benefits and costs of an invasive radio collaring programme for rhino and following a report of these findings in 1999, the Department of National Parks suspended all radio collaring of rhino.
Sky Alibhai has said that with so many question marks, it is not surprising that no other black rhino range state in southern Africa has employed radio collaring for routine monitoring and protection.
These findings have been challenged by the Zambezi Society who belive that collaring provides an effective means both to monitor rhinos and deter poachers. They have tried to discredit the findings of Rhinowatch on the grounds of statistical methodology and sample size.
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[Various notes]
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