*photo credit & thanks to Reuters Photo: A black rhino is prepared to have radio transmitters implanted into it's horns in this...

MAKHASA GAME RESERVE, South Africa (Reuters) -

The helicopter hovers a few meters above the thorn trees
like a mechanical bird of prey.

In the bush below is its quarry -- a young adult bull rhinoceros
weighing almost a tonne which is succumbing to the effects
of a dart fired from the air.

When the beast is deemed sufficiently groggy, the game capture team
drapes a cloth over its eyes and goes to work as its legs wobble
and it sinks to the ground.

The operation is carried out with clinical precision:
the animal is roped while a hole is drilled in its horns
to accommodate a microchip.

"It's a bar code. It's unique, so if it ever gets poached
we can trace it," says Jeff Cooke, the head of the game capture
unit for KZN Wildlife, the conservation body
for KwaZulu-Natal province.

Game capture is serious business in South Africa, where it has
been honed to a fine science to supply niche markets.

Almost unique in the world, South Africa's privately owned wildlife
and game breeding has been a growth industry, although there are
signs it has peaked with prices declining partly
because of the large supply of animals.

Animals are bred for a range of purposes: for conservation,
for hunting, and for sale to other game reserves.
They are captured on both state-owned and private land.

Sales from game auctions in the country last year amounted to
93.5 million rand ($15.30 million) compared with about
101.3 million rand in 2004, according to one estimate.

KZN Wildlife says revenue raised from its own game auctions was
about 9.1 million rand last year compared with almost 22 million
rand in 2001, but turnover has been up and down.

It remains high enough to support a burgeoning industry
dedicated to the live capture and transport of wildlife.

FLY-BY-NIGHTERS

"It is a growing industry though nobody knows exactly
how many operators there are," said Petronel Nieuwoudt,
who runs a game capture school.
"There are some good operators out there but unfortunately
there are also some fly-by-nighters and that is bad because
animals can easily die from stress," she told Reuters.

KZN Wildlife alone moves between 3,500 and 4,500 head of game
each year. They range from dainty duikers, a small species
of antelope, all the way up to elephants.

The rhino being captured on this day is the first to be offered
on the market by the Makhasa Game Reserve, a 1,700-hectare
(4,200-acre) conservation area owned by the local black community.
The money will be used to raise funds for the nearby villages
and the running of the park.

"This is going to mean a lot for our community," said Simon Gumede,
the community's traditional leader, as he gripped the animal's horn
while the capture unit went about its work.

The work is exacting, from the timing to the dosages used.
Dragged from the bush into a clearing, the rhino is given
a carefully measured adrenaline shot to revive it partly.
This enables the blindfolded animal to stagger to its feet.
With a rope around its snout, it is guided by team members
into a metal crate, which is winched on to a flatbed truck.

There is no margin for error.
"If the animal gets an incorrect dose it can come around faster
than expected and break loose. Then you're in trouble,"
said KZN Wildlife's communications manager Jeff Gaisford.

SPLIT-SECOND TIMING

The darting operation involves split-second timing
and steely nerves on the part of the pilot and the marksman.

"I try to get within 50 meters of the animal for the darter,"
said pilot Vere van Heerden.

A darted animal takes four minutes to fall, so van Heerden
tries to make sure the shot is fired near a clearing where
it will be easy for vehicles to get close.

"As soon as it is darted we start a stopwatch," he said.

Lots can go wrong.

"You handle every species differently and you need to know
what you are doing...you can't use the same drugs for cats
that you use for herbivores," said Nieuwoudt.

"You can use the wrong drug or dose and kill an animal.
Or if it's position is wrong it can bloat. Or it can
run too far or get stressed when it is being moved," she said.

Elephants must be doused constantly with water to keep
them from overheating and are winched while unconscious
into their carrying crates.

Lions are darted at night and individual animals must be
separated from the rest of the pride -- no easy task.

The work is also very expensive.

On this morning, the helicopter takes about three hours to find
a suitable animal to dart, and its operator charges by the hour.
One KZN source said the whole operation probably cost about
20,000 rand including the drugs.

The community will probably get about 70,000 rand for the rhino
and there were plans to catch another for sale.

Game capture vehicles with cranes and crates are expensive
and helicopters are needed for rhino and elephants, pointing
to a capital-intensive industry. However, the high costs and risks
highlight the lucrative nature of the business.

Our sincere thanks and credits go to Yahoo News

News content & photos presented are for the purpose of promoting the news source site along with sharing articles with others.
If you are a webmaster/source of content presented & wish the content removed,
please Contact Us, and we will remove the content promptly.

Contact Us

Artwork and Music of the Sans Bushmen

Visit Africa to protest & be proactive..
Please, if you are able.