Zimbabwe ranger, Charles Chinobva, faced and survived one of the many dangers that come with being a ranger – a close encounter with a Black Rhino, which left him with a severely punctured lung.
Rangers, Charles Chinobva and Junior Pfumgwa, were on a mission to photograph a female black rhino and her calf. Once spotted, Charles pointed the camera in their direction. “As I focused, I saw the rhino,” Charles explained. “It had emerged from the bush, so I prepared to take the photograph. I was not able to do so because the camera seemed to be zooming in on the rhino and I wanted to take a photograph of the whole rhino. I thought perhaps I had mistakenly activated the zoom, so I lowered the camera to check.
“I immediately realised that I was mistaken. I had not zoomed in on the rhino. It was charging us. This rhino was not the female we were looking for. We were being charged by a male black rhino.” Black rhinos are notoriously aggressive and will charge at anything they perceive to be a threat.
“I dropped the camera and we ran towards a tree,” but Charles stumbled and fell. “I tried to get up, but he was less than ten metres away from me. So, I lay down and tried to roll away from him.” The black rhino, identified as Pikinini, hit Charles with full force. Junior fired a shot into the air, mercifully sending Pikinini running back into the bush.
“Junior had to ask me three times if I was okay, because I could not answer,” Charles continues. “I stood up and saw my overall and t-shirt were both torn.” Charles was taken to Emmanuel’s Hospital in Chiredzi, where it was decided he needed an x-ray. This required him being transferred to another hospital.
At Triangle Hospital, it was revealed that Pikinini’s charge had broken eight of Charles’s ribs and his scapula. He was put on a pleural drain because his punctured lung had collapsed. The following morning Ace Evacuation’s air ambulance flew Charles from Buffalo Range to Charles Prince.
The ability to fly Charles and get him the advanced care he needed was made possible by his Ranger Protect insurance cover.
Charles is recovering well, and his only thoughts are for the rhinos he protects: “I’m looking forward to the day when I am fully recovered and I can get back to my rhinos. What happened to me was part of my job. It was just an accident.”
To sponsor a ranger, visit www.rangerprotect.com
Story by: Footprints Zimbabwe // Sarah Todd
