Rhino duo Lula and Khulula have been at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre for nearly a decade. Now, they’ve finally gone home to the wild.
Hoedspruit, South Africa (05 November 2024) — It was a bittersweet October for the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC) as they bid two rhinos, who were practically part of the furniture, goodbye. A victory for rhino conservation and years of effort, Lula and Khulula have finally been released back home into the wild.
The pair had both come to HESC as orphaned rhinos. Their mothers had been killed, and their chances of surviving on their own were slim.
Khulula arrived all the way back in 2016 while Lula would join her the following year. For a while, they were some of the youngest rhinos at the centre!
Both girls had carved enormous places in the HESC team’s hearts as all the rhinos do. Because of this, even though releasing them back into the wild was the goal; the goodbye was naturally equal parts rewarding and tough.
Not quite as simple as seeing a loved one off on a flight; the journey to release was lengthy.
“The process involved many human hands to assist, as moving two 2-ton animals is quite a job,” reflected Lente Roode, HESC Founder and Managing Director.
And before that, a lot of work went in to ensuring that Lula and Khulula would do well in the wild. Beyond rehabilitation efforts (which included the pair being placed in a different part at HESC to some of the other rhinos like Esmé, who get more human interaction, ensuring that they didn’t become reliant on humans); the ladies release also required much research for their future landsape.
After the last release efforts were ticked off the list (horn trimming and the big load into their trailers) it was finally time for the girls to get on the move.
“It’s moments like these that make our work worthwhile—knwoing that we have played a part in taking animals which otherwise would have had no chance at a natural existence—and ensuring that they can live their best rhino lives.”—Lente Roode.
The team has since shared that Lula and Khulula were doing well back in the wild and have even met a dashing male rhino called Ubuntu.
Sources: HESC
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