Rhino Mother and Calf
To spot a Rhino in Kenya is pretty rare, at least that’s what I was told. However, my fortune smiled one afternoon as I saw this beautiful Black Rhino mother and her calf coming over to our camp for a drink! You cannot imagine the frenzy as soon as people realised that these elusive rhinos were approaching the waterhole. As their outlines grew larger, all photographers and enthusiasts abandoned our food and positioned ourselves to photograph these majestic creatures.
Ol Pejeta is one the largest Rhino reserves in Kenya and have done some stellar work in conserving them. Black Rhinos are critically endangered, their populations plummeting due to poaching and habitat loss. Even today thousands are mercilessly slayed for their horns each year, primarily for use in traditional medicine. There are absolutely no medicinal properties in rhino horns; they contain Keratin, the same protein that’s found in human nails. Nothing more.
I consider myself very fortunate to have seen them in their natural habitat doing all things a wild rhino should be doing; grazing, relaxing at the watering hole, nuzzling against its mother and walking freely without fear. I may be the last generation who can boast of such an adventure.
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Ol Pejeta Conservancy, 2014