Do you know how to report an emergency in the park?
I used to know! When we were living in Letaba I had the section rangers number saved on my phone in case I had to report an emergency. And our neighbour there knew pretty much everyone in the North, so I could always ask her whom to contact. But now we live in the South of the park, I found myself in a situation where I wanted to report an injured rhino, and I had no idea who to call!!!
Last week I was out exploring our new area with a former KLM colleague and dear friend of mine. He was visiting us during his layover in Johannesburg. Richard and I have known each other for many years. We became friends during a rotation in cold, wintery Europe over lots of cups of hot chocolate. And over the years, we have explored the far corners of the earth together.
It is always so great to see Richard and catch up. He is such a darling and brings a bit of home to me. Be it in the form of some mature Dutch cheese or typical Dutch treats, a few presents from my mom or just by telling me about the latest news and gossip from Holland and my old airline KLM.
He loves Kruger and it’s animals about as much as I do. So the morning of his departure, we went for a last short game drive to a waterhole we discovered the day before. We saw herd after herd of elephants coming to drink there after the heat of the day. We even saw two rhinos! And we wanted to go and see if the waterhole was just as busy with animals in the morning.
Picture courtesy of Richard van der Waals
Picture courtesy of Richard van der Waals
We never quite got there though. On our way there I spotted two rhinos. I slammed on brakes because I immediately noticed there was something not right with one of them. I told Richard even before the car came to a complete stop: “We have to call someone, this rhino is injured!”
We had a look through my binoculars. The poor rhino had a deep, open wound high up on his side: So bad that I could actually see his ribs. The wound was oozing fluid. I can only imagine this wound was badly infected. Poor rhino, he must have been in so much pain!
My heart was racing. We needed to get this rhino some help! I was trying to think: who do I call??? With shaking hands, I reached for my phone. I looked at Richard. “I don’t have anyone’s contact details!” Not the Stolznek section ranger’s number or the one for Malelane’s section. I tried to phone Steven, but he was on trail and out of cell phone signal. So now what??
Then Richard had a brilliant idea. His entry permit had an emergency number on it! I quickly drove back to where we had cell phone signal and dialled the number that was printed on the permit. My call was answered promptly and after I explained that I live in the park, the lady there gave me Malelane sections phone number.
Thank goodness the section ranger answered the phone and I was able to tell him about the injured rhino and give him a location and the direction the rhino was heading. Apparently, they had been looking for this rhino for a few weeks!
Steven spoke to the section ranger the following day. He suspected that an elephant caused the injury to the rhino’s back! Thanks to our report and accurate location, the field rangers managed to find the injured rhino. Unfortunately, his injuries were so severe that they had to end his suffering. I was sort of expecting that. As sad as it is, at least the rhino was spared a very slow and painful death.
I felt so silly not knowing what number to dial when I saw this rhino. I have since saved all the important numbers on my phone. Let me share the emergency numbers with you that I got from the SANParks website:
Kruger National Park Emergency Hotline: 013 7354325 or 013 7350197 or 076 8019679
Counter poaching hotline: 0800 205005
Crime line: SMS 32211 or call 08600 10111
If you ever have to report an emergency please try and get a location as exact as possible. These days most new cars have a built-in GPS system. GPS coordinates are a great way to give a location. Otherwise, a road number and the distance to the next turn off with the corresponding road number is also great.
I hope this blog will maybe help someone save an animal in the future. Time for me now to have a late breakfast. A slice of toast with some delicious ‘oude kaas’… Thanks Rich!
Thank you for including me in your blog!
What were we shocked to see that rhino, luckily you know your way around the phonenumbers in the Kruger!
See you soon!
See you soon Rich!! We will definitely go and check out those waterholes again!! xxx
Hi Linda
I am happy they found the poor animal, but I have a question… I thought that the park does not intervene with the animals to try to keep the “natural” balance. Did they get involved this time due to it being a rhino or is this the normal practice?
I love reading your blog, makes me feel happy remembering the beautiful place called Kruger!
Warm greetings
Ali
That is a very good question, Ali! It is a bit hard for me to say… I was not there when they made the decision, but my personal guess would be that it was because of the animal being a rhino.
I’m so glad that you have highlighted the importance of these emergency numbers in your blog. I do have them on my phone but I also took a pic of your orange banner heading so that I could send it to friends – a very useful visual aid!
The rhino’s wound looked awful and I’m sure it would have been worried by oxpeckers going for the wound too? Putting it down was merciful.
Hi Sal! Awesome, that is exactly why I made that banner. So easy to save on your phone and quick to find.
There must have been oxpeckers all over that wound. It must have been so sore. Glad he is no longer suffering!
Thank you for posting the numbers.. have put them into my phone.. Krueger has a very special place in my heart as this is where I first met my husband in 1986 when I was working as a flight attendant for British Airways.. I I went to Krueger for a few days and met Hannes who was then working at Lowersabie.. Many years later my husband is now a pilot but we go back to Krueger as often as possible.. our next trip is at the end of November..I love reading your blogs.. always entertaining.. just be careful what your friends bring in from Holland! ( cheese not allowed). I wrap up mine in foil and spray it with parfum.. hoping to fool the snifferdogs!
Looking forward to more stories
Barbara Van Rensburg
Hi Barbara!
Thank you so much for your message! We have the flight attendant thing in common then! Still miss my flying days every now and then..;-)
I once tried to bring my best friend from Cape Town some tulip bulbs… Needless to say, they did not make it to her garden!
I am sure you can’t wait for November! Have a lovely time in Kruger then!
Warm regards, Linda