Tala Game Reserve says death of rhino bull ‘setback’ to conservation efforts
A rhino conservation group says the loss of an 18-year-old bull is a setback to their efforts.
The animal named Tyson slipped and got stuck in the mud while drinking at a dam in the Tala Game Reserve near Camperdown last week.
Kerry Reed from Save Rhino and Wildlife Project says the team and volunteers tried to help him.
"They nearly got him out, and he slipped back in again because after 25 minutes, obviously, he was extremely tired. He fell backwards, and his head went into the water.
“All six of them jumped into the water and tried to get him to come up and hold him up, but unfortunately, Tyson being an 18-year-old bull and weighing over two tons, it was just literally impossible for them to try and get him out."
The death leaves the reserve without a mature bull.
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Tyson was a white rhino, a "near threatened" species with around 18,000 in protected areas and private reserves.
"Now Tala doesn't have a bull to continue breeding, and we have been extremely successful at Tala looking after them because not one of them has been poached. We have had them watched for the past ten years; not one of them has been poached since.”
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