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| Location: |
Africa - Southern Africa - South Africa |
| Subject: |
Ecology - Census Methods |
| Species: |
Black Rhino |
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Because of the nature of the vegetation at Addo - which is a dense thicket of mainly evergreen and succulent shrubs and small trees (HallMartin,etal. 1982), in which visibility is limited, and access restricted to a few roads and elephant paths - it is difficult to keep records of the rhino. All animals were, therefore, darted in May 1977 when they were still held in a relatively small fenced paddock, and were marked by ear tags ('Lone Star' type) and had notches cut in their ears. The tags lasted a few years and then fell out. The notches, however, have allowed observations of known individuals to continue. A helicopter census of the Park (now carried out annually) during which all rhino are identified and photographed, is the major meansof recording data on the reproductive performance of the populations. When calves reach the age of 2-3 years, before they leave their mothers, they are darted and marked by ear notches. Three young animals were caught and marked in 1986 and more will be marked in 1987. The ultimate objective is to have all animals marked.
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Recruitment in a small black rhino population
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