Ten year old Shaka, son of Nandi and grand son of Nana, in an unusual encounter with our two special rhinos, Thabo and Ntombi.
A definite moment of incertitude and fear of such encounter…
Elephants are well known to win should there be a fight with a rhino, above all a hornless rhino
But no to-the-death-fight and it seems that curiosity and willingness to get to know each other be the mood on both sides.
Interesting fact that we cut the horns of our rhinos for their own protection against poachers. But in the wild, it is their only fighting tool. Here at Thula Thula, our wildlife seems to be living in absolute harmony, peace and tranquility. Great photo by French guest Dominique Claude.
Fun encounter between Romeo, our hippo, and Thabo. Just a little argument about territory maybe as hippo, rhino and even Gucci our crocodile share the same waterhole. Or maybe just a simple little chat. Who knows?
Photo by game ranger Chad Bouwers taken before the dehorning of Thabo and Ntombi. Dehornng was done as an extra precaution for for their protection against poachers.
Roadblock during safari. Our game ranger gently trying to get around them. Being hand reared by humans since their young age, our ‘little’ orphans, Thabo and Ntombi do not seem to realize their size. Both of these gentle souls are monitored 24/7 and hightly protected by our strong and dedicated Anti Poaching Team. Day and night.

Photo by Kim McLeod
Now this is what we call a heavy road block at Thula Thula. We have all experienced it and we do not even question who has got priority… Rangers and guests play this fun waiting game as our special herd has got no real sense of emergency in their lives. This is the way life should be and this is why we have so much to learn from observing wildlife in their natural habitat.

Photo by Kim McLeod