NARRATOR: Today in Africa, present day people are pushing rhinos to the very edge of extinction. Ninety-six percent of black rhinos have been slaughtered by poachers. This is their last sanctuary – Umfolozi in South Africa. But incredibly there are now too many black rhinos for this national park. Working with the World Wildlife Fund, the park is capturing rhinos here to begin the repopulation of the rest of Africa. It’s hard enough to dart a rhino traveling at forty miles and hour from a helicopter, but then that rhino has to be removed from thick bush – all two tons of it. The drugged dart has immobilized the rhino so it can be checked and prepared for travel. But if it’s not revived within half an hour, there’s a big risk to its health. The antidote goes in and the rhino responds rapidly. He must be moved before he’s completely awake. But even specially designed transport vehicles can’t always get through the bush. Many parts of Umfolozi National Park in Kwazulu Natal are so inaccessible, that the wildlife capture team relies on a Russian MI8 helicopter to pick up some of the black rhinos selected for the project. The rotors buffet the ground crew with ninety mile an hour winds. It’s a difficult job for the pilot, with the precious cargo dangling uncontrollably below; he must avoid the trees and beat the clock. The men from Kwazulu Natal are widely regarded as the world’s top game capture team. They’re moving these rhinos as part of WWF’s black rhino range expansion project. Before being moved, the horn tip is cut off to prevent the rhino from hurting itself, but it will grow back. Holes are drilled and an identity microchip and radio transmitter placed securely inside. This operation doesn’t hurt the rhino, there are no nerves in the horn. Last time we saw them, they were comatose. Now, the drugs have worn off, so they’re disoriented and frightened. It’s easy to see how they’ve earned the reputation for being such aggressive creatures. Fortunately the team knows how to deal with them. A white flag lures the short-sighted animals into their own private quarters. They’ll stay in these pens, or bomas for four weeks to prepare for their journey to their new homes. Wildlife Vet Dave Cooper explains the strategy.

DAVE COOPER: We’ve learned from, by trial and error that keeping them in a boma environment for those minimum of four weeks, four to six weeks, means that they settle down, they’re not angry, they settle down most importantly, they get used to these boxes. We find that if we are to just put the animals straight from the field into a box like this and transport them to their new destination they would fight the crate all the way and as a result would injure themselves. By the time these rhino get ready to leave here, they get so use to these boxes, that they probably sleep for almost the entire duration of their journey.

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