White Rhinos

A day to spare in Nakuru on our way to Nairobi, so we decide to go to Nakuru National Park. As residents the park entry fee is very reasonable. The park is world-famous for flamingos, but most have gone elsewhere due to the rising water level. It is also known for its population of about 20 white rhinos.

Access to the lake is severely limited by the flooding of the lake road, and many detours exist. This does not make for good animal viewing. We were not confident of seeing much, except for the ever-present buffalo. However, rule number one of safari-going held true; if you see a collection of mini vans, there will be something interesting to see nearby.

And so it was. Pulling up behind three vans we see a group of five white rhinos, walking slowly, parallel to the road, about 20 metres away. As the number of vans increased, they seemed to veer further from the roadside - perhaps this was coincidence. A few times we moved forward to keep up with their meanderings. Then, the rhinos started to move closer to the road. Some vans had gone by this stage, and we were at the head of the procession. Eventually the five rhinos were no more than 10 metres away from our car. One seemed to take an interest in us, and looked intently in our direction. Surprisingly, they seemed very docile creatures, not at all fazed by our presence. They grazed for a while and then started to gather together into a group, one gently resting its head on another’s rump.

Soon they had settled down very close to each other – like a circle of wagons, seemingly for safety, but I cannot imagine what they would be scared of … take another look at those horns. It looked like snooze time at rhino central so we moved away and left them to their afternoon siesta.

I think we had watched them for at least 25 minutes. It was awesome.

The thought of these mighty beasts becoming extinct saddens me. Rhinos are the most hunted African animal because their horn is considered the most “potent” by Chinese herbalists. Just days ago I read of the death of a Northern white rhino (not similar to the ones at Nakuru). The death brought the world-wide population to five – and scientists are not sure whether there is a breeding male. It looks like another sub-species destined for extinction in the near future.