WildLife Foundation is a key supporter of Rhino conservation projects, such as Save the Rhino’s vital work at the Ol Jogi Conservation centre in Kenya.
Rhinos have been continuously targeted by ruthless poachers who have left many young rhinos orphaned and vulnerable, meaning that the species is only just beginning to recover from a shocking 96% decline in numbers over a 20 year period.
As there are so few black rhinos left in the wild, each individual preserved has a valuable conservation impact. Thanks to the support of the WildLife Foundation, rhinos in Kenya received a double boost earlier this year with funding of £14,388 for two exciting conservation projects at Ol Jogi Conservancy in Kenya; one to help build rhino enclosures, or bomas, for injured or orphaned rhinos, and another project to help increase security of communications at the Conservancy, as poaching is becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Meimei, a black rhino calf treated at the Save the Rhino conservation centre, has successfully recovered her eyesight after being born blind.
Meet Meimei
Meimei, a female black rhino calf, was born blind at the beginning of March 2016 and had to be rescued to be hand-reared in a rhino enclosure, also called a boma. Her treatment required extensive veterinary care, with gallons of milk and supplements to aid her growth and recovery.
Thanks to the excellent care of the staff at Ol Jogi Conservancy, the infection that caused the blindness has now gone and Meimei has since fully regained her eyesight. At 14 months old, she still needs her daily milk but is now browsing on shrubby acacia and lucerne, and spends time each day in a much bigger paddock to forage for herself. As she grows bigger, she will gain in confidence and there is every hope that she will be able to be successfully released back into the wild when she is fully weaned.
With the help of the generous funding from WildLife Foundation two new bomas are being built to help hand-rear more rhinos like Meimei.
Help YWP Foundation
Conservation is at the heart of all of YWP’s work and offers visitors the opportunity to see some of the world’s most mesmerising animals up close, such as everyone’s favourite two rhinos, Dayo and Hodari, who weigh in at around 800kg.
Help YWP help endangered animals from all over the planet by donating today.
