Love Them but Don’t Smother Them

Last night I learned the untimely death of a 20-year-old rhinoceros at a wildlife reserve in South Africa. Spencer, a long time resident of a lion and rhinos park near Johannesburg, died while the vets were implanting a tracking device and pesticide into the horn of the sedated animal.

Although the implanting procedures give me willies, under certain circumstances, there may be good reasons to tag a wild animal with monitoring devices. But infusing deadly poison into a living thing is some thing that does not sit well with me. A chemical that is poisonous enough to kill bugs can kill other living things too!

I have always thought wild animals in an animal reserve lead a more carefree life. Sheltered animals are better protected from their predators, including poachers, than their peers in the wild. But Spencer’s good-hearted keepers thought this middle-aged bull rhino needed extra protection to prevent him from being poached for his prized tusk. Ironically, instead of being killed by the heartless poachers, Spencer met his premature death at the hands of the good people who were supposed to be there to protect him. - Ayee