A Rhinoceros Calf At Alzu

 In an earlier blog post I mentioned that I would be displaying wild animals photos on my blog. I had to wait until after the weekend to be able to keep that promise. The time has arrived although the animals stayed away and I couldn't get the shots I wanted. What I did manage to get will be shown here.

Some of you may know that rhinos in South Africa are being pouched for their horns and is a big moneymaking business. We are still fortunate that we can visit the Alzu Petroport in Mpumalanga.

The two rhinos casually walked up to the water troughs and the calf allowed the mother to drink first and only after a while also started drinking. It looks like these majestic animals respect the hierarchy within their kind and don't just but in and drink or eat before the matriarchs or elders first get their share. I think us humans can learn from them.

It looked like there was a tight bond between mother and calf because the latter remained at her side wherever they went. Inside the centre there are eating places and seating where visitors can relax and enjoy a bite to eat with something cool to drink and look out at the open countryside where the wild animals often come to drink some water.

At the bottom end of the huge estate a mountain bike race was taking place. It was called Tour de Farm and was well supported by people from all over the countryside.

Since the wild animals decided not to come for a drink of water in the dams closer to the centre where spectators can get a good look at them, I was unable to get near enough for more photographs. Consequently, I will add a photo of the stage area where a concert took place. At least that was a colourful venue to shoot.

The mountain bike race had different distances from 15 km to 70 km and also included an electric bike category. We attended the event because my son participated and enjoyed the 70 km race. He managed to improve his time and finished the distance under four hours. I'm very glad for him. I have included a photo below of the start of the race. He waved at me as I took his photograph.

So, I will insert another photograph to end off this blog post. It is a statue of a magnificent rhinoceros. I hope that the people pouching these animals won't make the species extinct and then leave the world with only statues of the rhinos. 

Thanks for reading.