Conservation Activity: Rhino Notching

Help protect our rhinos and get a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Book this once-in-a-lifetime experience completely private for you and your fellow travelers and make an important contribution to the protection of rhinos in Madikwe Game Reserve.

The activity is conducted either in the morning or in the afternoon as part of a regular game drive. At the meeting point you will be introduced to the reserve's conservation team, veterinarian and helicopter pilot.

You will find out more about the challenges of rhino poaching – which unfortunately also affects us in Madikwe Game Reserve – and the different protection concepts, and receive a briefing on the planned activity: rhino notching.

South African poaching explained

South Africa is home to the world’s largest rhino population and remains at the forefront of the global fight against rhino poaching. After years in which more than 1,000 rhinos were killed annually, poaching numbers have declined significantly in recent years.

In 2025, 352 rhinos were poached in South Africa — 68 fewer than in 2024, representing a 16% decrease. While this downward trend is encouraging, the threat remains very real. On average, almost one rhino was still killed by poachers every day in South Africa in 2025. Every loss matters, particularly as poaching not only removes individual animals but can also disrupt breeding populations and orphan calves.

Then there is the action: you will witness the search for a rhino via helicopter, from where the animal is darted and immobilised. Now, you can approach the animal on the ground.

The work then begins and your active participation is required. Blood and samples from the horn and tail are taken, and, with a bit of luck, you implant a microchip through the rhino's thick skin. The vet will then cut (“notch”) the rhino's ears in a unique pattern so that they can be identified in the future.

Finally, you will give the rhino an injection to wake it up and will see it disappear back into the bush.