While most royal fans can only dream of meeting a member of the monarchy, Zawadi the female black rhino has already had two royal visitors during her lifetime. Prince Harry has shared a photo from his meeting with the rhino during his three-month stint working on conservation projects over the summer – two years after she was photographed with his brother Prince William in Kent.Harry released a series of images and video clips from his summer of conservation work as he returned to Kruger National Park in South Africa to highlight the horrors of the illegal wildlife trade.
Zawadi the rhino has met Princes William and Harry
In a caption to accompany the photograph, Harry said: "This was the second time Zawadi, a female black rhino, met someone from my family. My brother William fed her two years ago in Kent just before she left under a translocation project to Tanzania where she now lives in a sanctuary. "Thanks to the passion and stubbornness of Tony Fitzjohn OBE and his amazing rangers, she and many others are living it up in the bush and their numbers are growing. She goes nuts for carrots and I loved being able to send William this photo. Hats off to Tusk Trust. "In a poignant and moving image, Harry lies with his head bowed and arms outstretched across a sedated elephant. The 31-year-old royal took a moment with the magnificent creature after helping to release her back into the wild in Kruger.
Prince Harry shared photos from his conservation work in the summer
In his caption, he describes his frustration at the slaughter of 30,000 elephants last year, calling it a "pointless waste of beauty".He said: "After a very long day in Kruger National Park, with five rhinos sent to new homes and three elephants freed from their collars - like this sedated female - I decided to take a moment. I know how lucky I am to have these experiences, but hearing stories from people on the ground about how bad the situation really is, upset and frustrated me. "Harry also revealed more details of the work he carried out in Namibia, along with a photo of him holding oxygen tubes going into a rhino as it is de-horned.
Harry revealed more details of the conservation work he carried out
He said: "I was working with Dr. Mark Jago and Dr. Pete Morkel in Namibia. Some countries are de-horning small populations of rhino to deter poachers from shooting them. "It is a short-term solution and surely no substitute for professional and well-trained rangers protecting these highly sought-after animals. De-horning has to be done every two years for it to be effective and can only realistically be done with small populations in open bush. "My initial task each time was to monitor the heart rate and oxygen levels and help stabilise them as quickly as possible. My responsibilities then grew to taking blood and tissue samples and the de-horning itself."
Prince Harry fed a baby rhino in a heart-warming video
Harry also released two video clips from his time carrying out conservation work. In one heart-warming video clip, Harry is seen feeding an orphaned baby rhino from a milk bottle before bending down to kiss it. He said: "These baby rhinos are at an orphanage because their mothers were killed by poachers. I can’t say where this is for obvious reasons. But I spent an afternoon with Petronel Nieuwoubt who runs the orphanage.
"The youngest rhino was called Don. He was just two months old when he was found in Kruger National Park. Petronel has students and volunteers from all over the world come to look after these orphans. They pay for this experience and that money is used for milk, food, fencing and rangers for security."
Harry tried to help a sedated rhino in another short video clip
In a final video clip, Harry is seen rushing up to a sedated rhino after it stumbles and falls to the ground. He said: "Trying to stop a three tonne rhino with a rope and a blindfold isn't easy! Especially in this harsh terrain in Botswana.
"Mapp Ives and Kai Collins, with the help of Botswana Defence Force and the government, are doing everything they can to protect their newly reintroduced rhino population. This sometimes means having to sedate them to check on how they're doing."
