Rhinos!

In September, Patrick and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary at Ziwa Rhino Preserve, about an hour and a half drive north from the Ranch.

We shared an often hilarious public bus ride up there (for several miles we had 21 adults + 2 babies packed into the 14-seater. At another point passengers were complaining about a rather large woman was getting on and taking up to much space. She yelled back that “this is the way the Lord made me!”)

 Ziwa is run by a South African family, and has been around for 6 years. The last wild rhino in Uganda was seen in 1983. Ziwa currently has 11 White Rhinos, and they are breeding them in hopes of eventually reintroducing them to the National Parks. Rhino horns are hunted for their use in Chinese medicine, so the animals are monitored 24/7 by armed rangers. You can find out more about the preserve at www.rhinofund.org

Part of our yummy breakfast

We drove out several miles, then trekked through tall grass to one of the groups – a pregnant female, two young males, and an older male. Our guide (whose brother attended CLA, small world!) took us really close to them as they munched on grass – after living on the Ranch, they reminded us of huge cows!

 

This is Baby Obama.  His father is Kenyan, and his mother is from Florida.

That night, another of the groups decided to celebrate International Rhino Day by joining us near the restaurant area!