Run or ride to help Ubhet heal
Put on your running shoes, bring your bicycle, but whatever you do, get yourself to Ubhetyan-O-Africa the weekend of 25 to 27 April. Ubhet the rhino needs your help to survive.
Ubhet lost two members of his rhino family to poachers. A nine-month pregnant cow and her two year-old calf were shot on the Ubhetyan-O-Africa game sanctuary a couple of weeks ago. It is suspected that both the mother and her calf were alive when they had their horns chopped off.
During the same incident, Ubhet was injured when a gunshot to the head narrowly missed his vital organs and lodged somewhere in his neck. Dr. Peter Caldwill, a wildlife vet from Pretoria, traveled to the farm to treat the injured rhino. The bullet was removed a few weeks after the attempt on Ubhet’s life, when it’s location was given away by a festering wound in the bull’s neck.
Ubhet’s owners, Deon and Susan Cornelius, are battling to keep up with the ever rising medical bills. To have the remaining rhinos dehorned, and to treat the injured bull’s wounds from time to time, has amounted to more than R100 000 in medical costs.
The Freedom for Rhinos weekend, hosted from 25 to 27 April, aims to help relieve some of the financial strain. The jam-packed program promises to keep the whole family busy.
Saturday 25 April
Take part in the Race for Rhinos mountain bike race. Three categories, with a 5km, 10 km and 15km route, will take you on a scenic trip through the farm and past many and rare carnivores and other wildlife. Entry fees range from R50 for the shortest to R100 for the longest route.
Sunday 26 April
Prayers for Rhinos. Come visit the game farm, day fees are R50 per adult and R25 for children under 12. Enjoy a buffet lunch, watch the lions being fed, go on conservation walks and game drives and pray for the plight of the rhino in the bush church.
Monday 27 April
Enjoy the public holiday by taking part in the Warriors for Rhinos obstacle course. Make your way through interesting obstacles like rock climbing and ploughing through a mud-hole filled with rhino dung in this adventure packed race based on the popular Warrior Race concept. Entry fees are R100 for the five km race and R150 for the 10 km race.
For more information or to book your place contact Susan Cornelius on 082 921 3995 or email her at ubhetyan@gmail.com. To see more of the farm visit their Facebook profile Ubhetyan-O-Africa.
