The excitement is building. They’ve been training for months, running at all times of the day and night, across time zones and sometimes even snow, to get ready for that start line. Rhinos everywhere are gearing up for one of the biggest days of the year this weekend: the London Marathon, reports Allie Mills in London.
Before the big day, we wanted to send huge amounts of good luck to every one of our 57 fantastic runners who are taking part this year. On Sunday, our rhino runners will together have completed a huge 1,493 miles, and raised more than £105,000! Of course, they are already amazing, and when Sunday comes, they’ll cross that finish line knowing that they have done something incredible.
We at Save the Rhino love marathon day, it is a true highlight in our calendar. This year, in particular, we have some epic mentions:
• Costume runner Paul Cuddeford will be adding more to his rhino miles, breaking the 700-mile mark (that’s more than 26 marathons in costume…wow)
• The legendary Vicky Rees will be completing her eighth consecutive London Marathon in costume – in fact, she’s only ever run a marathon with a costume on!
• We’ve got a few speed machines as well, with Martyn Holman, Aidan Ryan and Patrick Chilufya all aiming to run their 26.2 miles in less than 3:10 hours, while Harry Vowles will be going for a new Guinness World Record in rhino costume with a time under 5:15 hours.
• We also have 10 runners from our conservation programmes in Zambia and Zimbabwe joining this year’s team.
Our brilliant runners have done most of the hard work already, putting in the miles day in, day out, but also putting on events, baking and doing everything they can to raise an incredible amount of money. The funds raised from the marathon make a real difference for us at Save the Rhino, and we could not achieve as much without these runners.
From all of us, thank you and good luck! We can’t wait to see you all at the finish line for the hugs and smiles you all deserve!
Anything you can give to motivate our runners even more for the big day is a huge help. Support the Save the Rhino 2019 London Marathon team.
Rhino conservation in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe can be a challenging place for rhino conservationists. It’s where the current poaching crisis began in 2008, and c. 175 rhinos have been poached there during the past five years.
Zimbabwe is one of the ‘Big Four’ black rhino range states, together with South Africa, Namibia and Kenya. When poaching was at its height in 2008, the Lowveld Rhino Trust – our conservation partner in Zimbabwe – translocated more than 50 black rhinos out of particularly vulnerable areas, relocating them to safer places.
The Lowveld Rhino Trust works hard to increase numbers of both black and white rhinos, tracking and monitoring all their animals to ensure their long-term well-being and safety. Through this close monitoring, they can quickly intervene to treat rhinos injured from snare or bullet wounds.
The Trust’s team not only work hard to keep rhinos healthy they also engage closely with local communities. During the first six months of 2018, ‘talk and film’ sessions were organised at 19 schools, with more than 6,000 students and 280 teachers watching a film about rhinos before asking questions and learning more about rhino conservation. The Trust has given out more than 91,000 exercise books to students, inspiring strong, positive relations with wildlife and spreading the message further about rhino conservation. Communicating with communities is essential to foster partnerships with local people, as well as promoting sustainable tourism practices and providing support for communities through outreach projects.
Continued success from its efforts to help build the Lowveld region’s black rhino population. In 1990, the area hosted just 4% of the national population; by mid-June this year, the figure stood at 89%, demonstrating the effective techniques implemented by the Trust. And what’s more, nine new-born rhino calves have been spotted already this year!
Success stories such as this demonstrate the real impact of effective conservation programmes at a time when rhinos are under constant threat. We’re excited to see what more can come from the Trust’s continued efforts.
- World Elephant Day - August 12, 2021
- New Flights to Ignite Kariba Tourism - August 8, 2021
- Zimbabwe Opens Two Land Borders - August 2, 2021
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