Morani Information Centre
It was with great sadness that we had to announce the loss of Morani, our tame black rhino on Saturday August 9th 2008. Morani was a fantastic draw for our visitors and helped educate them about the plight of black rhinos in Africa, and what must be done to ensure their survival. Now in Morani’s absence, we are compelled to continue educating our visitors about black rhinos and our work to conserve these highly endangered animals.
We have therefore come up with a plan for the Morani complex and information centre as outlined briefly below:
Baraka, a black rhino, has been transferred to the Morani complex. Baraka was the first rhino to be born in the wild on Ol Pejeta, aptly named Baraka meaning blessings in Swahili. He is now completely blind due to a fight with another rhino which lost him an eye and then sadly he developed a crystallized cataract in the other which is beyond repair. His disability has meant that he could not be returned to the wild. Baraka's new home has meant that he has replaced Morani as an Ambassador for the species, however he will not be able to replace Morani in terms of good nature and willingness to allow visitors a “hands-on” experience. It is for this reason that we have created a feeding platform from which visitors can feed Baraka three times a day.
It has always been the Conservancy’s plan to construct a number of holding pens (bomas) for rhinos. These are intended to facilitate re-introductions and for providing care to any rhinos that are in need (a sort of rhino hospital!). These holding pens, although designed specifically for rhinos, will be capable of holding a number of other species as well. The plan is to construct these at the Morani complex and allow visitors access to them via a series of walkways. This will take approximately four months before completion. Morani has been buried under the Ol Pejeta Conservancy tree on Zebra Plain where we have put a rock cairn in tribute to him. Any visitors wanting to visit this are welcome and will be allowed to leave their vehicle to walk around. In the meantime, the recently redesigned Morani Information Centre remains open and provides comprehensive information about how a modern wildlife conservancy works.
