By Ilanit Chernick
Johannesburg - They cut through its thick grey hide with long knives as they attempted to locate the bullet and gather evidence that could help find who was responsible for the poaching of yet another rhino.
During a media trip with the South African National Parks (SANParks) at the Kruger National Park (KNP), the media on Wednesday witnessed, first-hand, the methods used to process the crime scene.
A 2km walk through the dense bush in the 30°C heat in the KNP kept journalists on their toes as they traipsed, together with a police forensic team, to the site of a recent crime scene.
Believed to be an eight-day-old carcass, the rhino was found dead on Saturday with its horn cut off.
As we neared the body, the putrid smell of rotting flesh hit hard.
The police forensic team and several SANParks investigators stopped us in our tracks for fear of possible further contamination. They wanted to evaluate the scene before allowing us to proceed.
“This isn’t a secure crime scene. It’s not like a room with a dead body,” said Frik Rossouw, a SANParks senior investigator for environmental crime investigations.
“Here you have to be careful not to step on anything that could be evidence as the scavengers destroy the scene very quickly.”
They also wanted to make sure there were no dangerous animals lurking anywhere near the scene.
“We look for bullets, DNA, hats, anything that was left behind by the poachers that can connect them to the crime. We suspect that we won’t find more than ballistics because this scene is seven to eight days old. Animals like hyenas and vultures have already eaten from the carcass but when it is fresh, it can take a whole day to process.”
Rossouw said the main objective when gathering evidence was to be able to link the carcass to the horn when it was found.
Members of the team donned thick, green gloves while SANParks assistant investigator Nonhlanhla Mbatha used a metal detector to try to find a bullet inside the carcass.
The team spotted the entry wound and put a long, orange stick into it to trace the direction the rhino was shot from.
Soon after that, they began cutting into its hide and found what was suspected to be an exit wound. The area was marked. They then rolled the carcass on to its side to look for any further bullet wounds.
Following the arduous task, Rossouw said they hoped to retrieve a bullet and link it to a weapon because, for now, that was the only evidence they could find.
“It’s too old to get more evidence out of it because there are a lot of hyenas in the area,” he said.
The team also took skin and toenails from the dead rhino to help with profiling.
“There’s no blood to take and the meat is all rotten; this is how we’ll get DNA for the database,” Rossouw said.
Lieutenant Colonel Frans van der Merwe of the SAPS crime scene management national processing team said there were several difficulties that came with working on such scenes.
“It’s very hot and humid and you can easily lose 5kg working in this heat.
“It’s also dangerous because there are wild animals like lions and hyenas and sometimes getting to a crime scene can be extremely difficult, especially if it’s very deep in the bush.”
Van der Merwe added that there were also some health risks because one was dealing with a carcass.
“There are parasites and, when you open the animal up, there is also the release of ammonia gas. But I do it because I have a passion for animals and I want to see justice,” he said.
A further 4km away another young rhino was found dead on Saturday. It was believed to have been shot at the same time, but walked further to where it died.
However, the distance, heat and dense brush prevented the group from being able to get there
Taking care of the orphans
The rhino orphan rehabilitation programme at the Kruger National Park has saved about 40 orphaned rhinos who lost their mothers because of poaching.
Some of the calves taken in are as young as 2 to 3 weeks.
“We help as many live rhinos as we can and this is a specialist facility that deals specifically with the rhinos,” said SANParks head veterinarian Dr Markus Hofmeyr.
“Surrogate mothers are introduced to the orphaned calves. We put them in smaller, separate pens where they get up close to each other and get to know each other through the pen fence.
“White rhinos are generally social animals and it only takes about 20 minutes to get used to each other. We then open the gate between the two pens. Using this, we help the rhinos to reintegrate into rhino society and once rehabilitated, we’ll release them back into the wild,” Hofmeyr explained.
He said the surrogate mothers brought in were between 4 and 5 years old.
“We usually have one cow for a few calves.”
He said the calves were not released back into the wild until they were about 18 months old.
The rhinos are also dehorned to prevented anyone from poaching them once they're set free.
Hofmeyr said the drought was preventing them from releasing a large group back into the wild.
“We should have released them by now, but it’s too dry.
“We’re hoping to release them in December or January, once we’ve seen some rain.”
Hofmeyr said the rehabilitation process was not cheap.
“It costs around R300 a day to maintain a calf and its surrogate mother,” he said.
The media group met Flippie, a tame white rhino, and was allowed to touch him. His skin felt tough and rough and he was only too happy to get a rub from his visitors.
“He helps us to teach people what rhinos are about and he also helps to calm the new rhinos,” Hofmeyr said.
The Star