Clem Coetsee (c. 1939 – 7 September 2006) was a

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to th ...

n conservationist. He developed new methods of big game conservation.

History

Coetsee was at the forefront of the campaign to de-horn

rhinos A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

under sedation, to make them safe from

poachers Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set ag ...

who kill for the horn. He also pioneered the practice of managing

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

populations by sedating and moving entire family groups, from bulls and cows down to calves, in contrast to the practice of slaughtering the mature animals and relocating only youngsters. Moving family groups was seen as more successful in relocating the animals without ill effects, and has been repeated in several countries. In 1992 he had tracking microchips implanted under the skin of more than 40 elephants, which were being relocated from Zimbabwe's

Gonarezhou National Park Gonarezhou National Park is a national park located in southeastern Zimbabwe. It is situated in a relatively remote corner of Masvingo Province, south of Chimanimani along the Mozambique border. Owing to its vast size, rugged terrain and its loca ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

because of drought. This was the first time an elephant relocation had used this technology for follow-up. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

on the 4th of September 2006.

History

References

Further reading