I have just become friends with an incredible 21-year-old rhino. While we were in a densely forested valley in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, Africa's most famous black rhino, named Sibula, shared a very closely guarded secret with me.
Sibra was born in the Namibian wilderness in 1984, but was captured five years later and sent to the Lisbon Zoo. She was rescued in 1990 and taken to Augrabies Falls National Park in South Africa, where she subsequently mated with a wild male and gave birth to her first calf at the ripe old age of 10, a major milestone in black rhino conservation.
Shibra now lives in Addo Elephant National Park, safely tucked away in the farthest corner of the continent, and I spent half a day with her in the Darlington area of Addo, from just after dawn until the sun was directly overhead.
Despite, or maybe because of, her many encounters with humans, she was never friendly. In fact, she was one of the most nervous black rhinos I have ever seen. Of course, a healthy fear of humans is a good thing, but it meant that she kept a safe distance of at least 500 meters. She spent most of her time hiding behind the bushes.
But I'm glad I waited patiently, because finally she came out, with a tiny newborn calf running around at her feet – her sixth calf.
Sibula is a leader in the movement to bring black rhinos back to Africa. In the 1970s and '80s, 96 percent of the black rhino population was killed by poachers. In 1970, the wild population was estimated at 65,000, but by 1995, only 2,410 remained. Conservation efforts over the past decade have helped the population recover somewhat to 3,600, most of which live in South Africa and Namibia.
The long-term goal is to relocate as many black rhinos as possible to neighbouring countries and to East Africa, where there are (or were) already native populations of black rhinos.
Addo Elephant National Park was originally established to save the Eastern Cape's elephants from extinction, but it has been a huge success. The elephant population has grown from just 11 in 1931 to more than 420 today. The malaria-free park is just an hour's drive from the coastal city of Port Elizabeth, and elephants remain the main attraction for visitors. Elephants roam a wide area and can be hard to spot, but abundant dung confirms their presence and provides a constant source of work for the flightless dung beetles, which are virtually endemic to Addo.
In recent years, the park's focus has shifted to broader conservation efforts, with current policy being to introduce lions and spotted hyenas, animals that historically inhabited the area but have become extinct due to poaching and habitat encroachment.
Of course, the black rhino is a key element in plans to step back in time and restore this beautiful corner of the Eastern Cape to its original state of over a century ago.
There is almost no better habitat for rhinos in Africa, so the potential for rhinos here is staggering: If all goes well, the current population of around 40 could grow to several hundred.
Meanwhile, Shibra continues to make incredible contributions of her own. Her second calf, a male named Swagger, died in 1996, but five of her calves survive. Local rangers, researchers and conservationists are excited by the possibility that Shibra may one day, perhaps soon, become a grandmother.
Zoologist Mark Carwardine's latest book is Extreme NatureHe announced Nature He has been presenting for many years on BBC Radio 4. See his website here: Mark Carward Inn
