Devastatingly, we placed a 7th pebble on the grave of another Rhino, Mimi, our brave little orphan who lost her mother to poachers in 2023 and was sadly the last descendant of Bingo – the first Rhino ever introduced onto Sibuya Game Reserve – who was poached in 2016. The passing of Mimi was the heartbreaking end of a chapter…
Life for Mimi was not easy, as well as having lost her mother Noelle during the poaching incident, she had also been shot with a high calibre rifle. It was a miracle she survived, as the bullet just missed her heart, lungs and spine. She was traumatised and weak, needing extra care, at the tender age of a year old she was orphaned. At this stage, still very reliant on her Mother, she was transferred to a Rehabilitation Centre where she spent a year undergoing operations, intensive care, treatments & rehabilitation. It was a joyful day for all when our now 2-year-old orphaned baby, was finally healthy enough to return to Sibuya Game Reserve with her new friend Lulu.
We never fully understood the emotions a Rhino experiences or what sense of loss they suffer but Mimi spent the first two nights at the grave site where she had lost her mother a year before. A heartache for us as we realised that she remembered the hideous drama of that fateful evening when her Mother and Aunt were ruthlessly killed by poachers, who then also heartlessly shot and seriously wounded her.
Poor little Mimi suffered a couple of subsequent misfortunes. In April 2024 we lost signal on her tracking device, searching the Reserve for hours, we found her stuck in the thick Estuarine mud, cold and clinging to life with her head just above the water of the rising tide, her situation was dire. The frantic team spent many hours trying to rescue her and with the assistance of a tractor eventually managed to release her from the deep sticky mud. Unfortunately, this was not where her tale of woe ended.
A few days after this traumatic experience and while still recovering she had another unfortunate encounter with a male Rhino and fell down a much higher riverbank. Luckily, this time she was fortunate enough to be able to walk out as it was low tide, and the base of the river had very little mud in that particular spot. Little did we know that possible damage had been done to her ribs from this encounter and dramatic fall.
After this incident she virtually became a recluse, spending most of her time in thick bush, not eating much, not wallowing and coming out virtually only to drink. It was then decided to provide a treat with supplementary feeding of Lucerne to give her a boost. But with long term trauma and stress she started to deteriorate. We called in a Vet who darted her, took blood samples and gave her antibiotics, immune boosters and a general check-up. This is when it was discovered she had several broken ribs, which had virtually healed and her constitution was not in good shape.
The Anti-Poaching Team spent many hours monitoring her and providing her with feed, but sadly even after another two visits from the Vet, with more tests and boosters, she continued to spiral downwards and became so weak she no longer had any energy or desire to eat or drink. On the afternoon of the 6thFebruary the heartbreaking call was made to end her suffering. Mimi was quietly put to sleep and buried next to her mother.
Our Rhino, lost due to poaching in 2023, are buried under a beautiful Boer-bean tree – a place of peace that marks their grave.
Words can never bring Mimi back and they will never stop the heartache and pain we all feel here at Sibuya, but words can be heard and stories can be told. We will not let the loss of this amazing brave little fighter get us down. We will continue to fight. We will continue to protect. We will continue to save the survivors!
Always remembered…
2016. What a precious sighting.
Our new baby – Mimi
Mommy Noelle cautiously showing off little Mimi.
Much excitement for the little one in the car, too!
Please help us to help them by donating to the Sibuya Rhino Foundation.
