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Archive 2021 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

In the waterberg wilderness area, we hired a guide for "Rhino tracking by foot".
I was very anxious, to say the least. Sitting in a car is completely different. All of a sudden, YOU are the smaller object and you become uncomfortably aware of the fact that you will not stand the slightest chance if something goes wrong.

I only brought a 70-200mm f/2.8 (Tamron G2) with my Nikon D810...

Our guide tells us that the white rhino is generally not aggressive, unless it has offspring to protect.

Of course, we follow the tracks that a mother and her kid left on the sandy road through the park. (They apparently often visit the watering hole near the campsite during the night, instead of the one further out in the park)
https://abload.de/img/l102026183jim.jpg

First up, we have a 10+ year old bull that's eyeing us suspiciously. Well, that bull has a little one hidden somewhere.
https://abload.de/img/mbp_2686n1k15.jpg

We walk in a VERY wide circle around him to approach the mother with the little one. (only slightly cropped.. we were very close)
https://abload.de/img/mbp_2701rzkhw.jpg

there it is.. SOOOO CUTE!
https://abload.de/img/mbp_2708mqjsx.jpg

The guide then tells me to finish up, because he lost track of the daddy and doesn't want that one to "sneak up" on us.

Last, we meet another older female that's currently a foster parent to a young one. (According to the guide, that young one initially belonged to the momma we met first, but the young rhinos get chased away when the bull comes back to produce more offspring)
https://abload.de/img/mbp_2737z3k2x.jpg

Our guide also showed us the carcass of a young bull that was shot and killed by poachers only 4 days before our arrival. I'm not gonna show any pictures of this here, though.
According to our guide, the one that was killed was the offspring of the mother in the image above.
The mother got shot too, but from a great distance, thus survived. A veterinary had to tend to her wound, but she pulled through. They also caught the poachers!

Aug 21, 2021 at 03:46 PM

morris
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

2 and 3 are super

Morris

Aug 21, 2021 at 06:14 PM

OSP2017
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

Awesome shots and the write-up! What an experience!

Aug 21, 2021 at 11:00 PM

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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

OSP2017 wrote:
Awesome shots and the write-up! What an experience!

Thank you!
I was really hesitant to do it, but we'd spent 4 days driving around Etosha already and had seen plenty of Rhinos there from the safety of a car.

I said to myself that they wouldn't offer this if there was much of a risk involved. The guide only had a slim wooden stick with him, not something you could defend yourself with, and that - interestingly - inspired even more trust.

You visit the animals as a guest and you do it on their terms.

I would NEVER encourage anyone to do that by themselves, even if it is fairly easy to read and follow their tracks on a sandy road (and you can easily tell how fresh they are, even as a newbie).
The animal will not tell you to go away with words. It has certain behavioural patterns that you need to very closely observe (and understand!).
I have a postcard with a picture they took on one of those walks, less than a meter away from an adult white rhino. Since the ones we met were guarding a 9mo young one / recovering from a gunshot wound and the loss of their offspring after being attacked by poachers, it probably wasn't safe to approach them any closer than what we did.

Aug 22, 2021 at 03:27 AM

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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

Terrific shots!!
Thanks for the story of how you got them. A great experience.
I have seen rhinos a few times but always from a vehicle. That's a good experience but not like the up close experience you had.

Dave

Aug 22, 2021 at 09:49 AM

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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

Wonderful shots. What an experience!

Aug 27, 2021 at 05:52 PM

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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

What a great time that must have been, congratulations!
Bob

Aug 27, 2021 at 06:39 PM

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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

Looks like a great experience which generated some wonderful shots. Do not try this with a Black Rhino, though!

Aug 27, 2021 at 08:33 PM

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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

You were never in much peril as I am sure you discovered. The Rhino (Faro) in the parks are actually quite tame. They are very used to seeing people on foot as you discovered. Even the unacclimated Rhino in the true wild areas rarely charge to completion. Still in the wild areas your guide would have been armed for sure. Back in the 1970s we had a lot of them in our mining concession area down in Tsavo area Kenya. I admit I spent more than a couple of hours in my life sitting on top of a rock, or in a tree just to be safe. But the only times I have ever been charged is in a vehicle, never on foot.

Nice images. I am glad you had such great adventures in my beloved Africa.

Aug 27, 2021 at 08:48 PM

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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

Thank you, everyone!

It truly was a magical experience, to be sure.

@1bwana1
I never felt in danger, that's true. The fact that the guide didn't bring a weapon did that for me. When we camped in tents in the middle of the Moremi Game Reserve and Savute Region in Botswana, I never felt in danger either.

I do, however, think that it might have been different from other encounters for tourists in that area. Firstly, the calf was only 9 or so months old and the guide did seem slightly uneasy about us staying there for such a long time. He warned that he didn't want the bull to circle around us.
Secondly, the adult female of the second encounter did seem wary. She had been shot merely 4 days before we arrived there, so I assumed she wouldn't like people to approach her closely.

The guide also emanated a calm that helped not to freak out.
https://abload.de/img/l10202422qj1n.jpg

But he never gave me an answer to my question "where do I go if a Rhino charges and there's no tree/rock to climb on?"

Aug 28, 2021 at 10:33 AM

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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

There's another picture of the big daddy from our first encounter.
https://abload.de/img/mbp_2695aajl7.jpg

The horn must be nearly 2 feet long.

These are the remains of the young male that got killed by poachers 4 days before we arrived. The guide wanted to show it to us. He seemed completely indifferent about it, while I had to fight back tears standing there.
He also told us that they lost rhinos all the time, but that they would often catch the poachers afterwards. They even do ballistics in the lab to find them. But the buyers always get away.

https://abload.de/img/l102025509kcl.jpg

Aug 28, 2021 at 11:06 AM

1bwana1
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

mbphoto_2.8 wrote:
But he never gave me an answer to my question "where do I go if a Rhino charges and there's no tree/rock to climb on?"

The answer to this question is always the same. You can never outrun the Rhino. So you need to make sure you are not the slowest runner in your group. You just need to outrun them. Always best to invite an old fat guy on any walking Safari!

I hate poachers, we had ways of dealing with them on our properties...

Yes, your guide is correct the buyers are the big criminals in the chain. Never buy anything from any business or person who trades in wildlife products. Even if the thing you are buying is not a wildlife product, you are supporting that corrupt business. The Rhino products are mostly used in traditional medicine shops around the World. When you buy any of their products you support the killing of our planets wildlife.

Edited on Aug 28, 2021 at 07:46 PM · View previous versions

Aug 28, 2021 at 11:27 AM

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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

nice rhino shots

Aug 28, 2021 at 05:28 PM

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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

1bwana1 wrote:
You were never in much peril as I am sure you discovered. The Rhino (Faro) in the parks are actually quite tame. They are very used to seeing people on foot as you discovered. Even the unacclimated Rhino in the true wild areas rarely charge to completion. Still in the wild areas your guide would have been armed for sure. Back in the 1970s we had a lot of them in our mining concession area down in Tsavo area Kenya. I admit I spent more than a couple of hours in my life sitting on top of a rock, or...Show more →

On one occasion we were repeatedly charged by a black rhino coming at our vehicle. Never actually hit the vehicle, stopped just short. This was in a private concession in Botswana. Black rhinos are a bit belligerent.

Aug 29, 2021 at 09:08 AM

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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

mbphoto_2.8 wrote:
There's another picture of the big daddy from our first encounter.
https://abload.de/img/mbp_2695aajl7.jpg

The horn must be nearly 2 feet long.

These are the remains of the young male that got killed by poachers 4 days before we arrived. The guide wanted to show it to us. He seemed completely indifferent about it, while I had to fight back tears standing there.
He also told us that they lost rhinos all the time, but that they would often catch the poachers afterwards. They even do ballistics in the lab to find them. But the buyers always get away.

https://abload.de/img/l102025509kcl.jpg

Very sad to see the young rhino carcass. I hate poachers.

Aug 29, 2021 at 09:10 AM

1bwana1
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

dallvr wrote:
On one occasion we were repeatedly charged by a black rhino coming at our vehicle. Never actually hit the vehicle, stopped just short. This was in a private concession in Botswana. Black rhinos are a bit belligerent.

We used to have a lot of them on our mining concession in the Tsavo area of Kenya. Some were very reliable chargers. I think it developed into a game for all involved including the Rhinos. At the time I spent 3 days a week at the mine and 4 days down at the coast in my house at Nyali Beach just outside Mombasa. My house was right next door to two big tourist hotels that were very popular with young European women. Many times I would meet one and offer to take her up to the mines with me. On the way in I would go through the area where the Rhinos hung out. I could count on getting a good charge out of them. This gave the ladies a thrill as it was likely the first time they had even seen a wild Rhino. Big adventure. Kind of set the mood for our time together.

Aug 29, 2021 at 09:57 AM

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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · White Rhinos in Namibia (up close on a guided walk)

1bwana1 wrote:
We used to have a lot of them on our mining concession in the Tsavo area of Kenya. Some were very reliable chargers. I think it developed into a game for all involved including the Rhinos. At the time I spent 3 days a week at the mine and 4 days down at the coast in my house at Nyali Beach just outside Mombasa. My house was right next door to two big tourist hotels that were very popular with young European women. Many times I would meet one and offer to take her up to the mines with me....Show more →

This must be the most epic pick-up strategy I've ever heard of.

Aug 29, 2021 at 01:10 PM


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