At the end sharp

THE REMAINING RHINOS

First, the slightest nub of an infantile horn emerges. Then eyes, timid and curious. Prodding the dust with a stumpy foot, the calf gathers confidence before skipping out from behind his mother’s enormous barricade of a rump.

The calf makes a gentle panting sound – a contact call, to reassure his mother. Red-billed oxpeckers ride on the rhinos’ backs, hopping off to pluck ticks from around ears and undersides. Then the birds fuss and chirrup away, sending their hosts a signal that other creatures are nearby.

“The mother’s name is Masalempini – that means Remains of the War,” whispers nature guide Bongani Mbatha. “She is a white rhino born just after a time of heavy poaching, from 1988 to 1992. Perhaps that explains why she is so aggressive. She has hit vehicles many times in the past.”

Masalempini and her calf disappear into 10,000 hectares of dense bush, and our Land Rover bounces onwards up a dirt track. Antelopes are everywhere. Towering kudu raise their necks above magic gwary trees laden with sweet berries. Harems of impala circle in clearings, and