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The first private game reserve company ever to donate rhino for conservation, luxury experiential travel company &Beyond has earmarked six white rhino to be translocated from &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa to Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Facilitated in partnership with Rhino Force, &Beyond is supported in this conservation coup by lead sponsor, Motorite Insurance Administrators.
With South Africa losing over 300 rhino to illegal poaching this year alone, the Okavango Delta has proven to be a successful rhino relocation habitat. Botswana currently has an excellent security and monitoring system to protect the species and the project is being carried out with the full support of the Botswana Rhino Management Committee.
The translocation process is set to begin in February 2013. From October 2012, game scouts from Botswana will travel to &Beyond Phinda to undergo intensive tracking and monitoring training. Capture and release bomas will be built in South Africa and Botswana, with various conservation initiatives set in place to ensure that the six carefully selected rhino arrive at their destination safely.
The rhino will be quarantined for a specified period after capture before being transported to the Okavango Delta. On arrival, the animals will be held in a specially prepared boma until local vets and land managers are confident that they have recovered from their journey. Telemetry units will also be fitted to the rhino during this time to monitor their movements post release into the wild.
&Beyond has made a significant contribution to the protection of rhino over the past 20 years. This project, with the final release of the six rhino scheduled to take place in April 2013, highlights the company’s commitment to its core ethic of Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife and Care of the People.
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