Dr Mike Toft has dedicated his life to helping creatures great and small, from livestock to lions. Now, his efforts are focused on saving the rhino
story claire wager pictures chantal roberts and peter chadwick
Quietly spoken words and a deep commitment borne through a childhood in the bush have led local vet, Dr Mike Toft, to become a well-respected and sought after wildlife specialist. Ninety percent of his current work is for Save the Rhino, where he is involved in an extensive de-horning operation.
Born in Kenya and growing up in the remote northern town of Marsabit, Mike was surrounded by wildlife. “I was brought up in the wilds of Kenya, surrounded by wildlife and domestic livestock – cattle, camels, sheep and goats. I have a scientific probing mind and a deep love and appreciation for animal life. It was a natural graduation to becoming a vet,” he explains.
Mike then moved to Zimbabwe, where he became part owner of a veterinary practice in Harare with mentor Dr Ant Donohoe, before moving to Waterfall, South Africa. He has been the sole owner of Waterfall Veterinary clinic for the past 25 years.
During this time, Mike set up Kifaru Wildlife Services. “For as long as 16 years, I have been doing wildlife work part-time and commuting to the Zululand parks as an honorary officer vet,” Mike says. “I learnt a great deal from friend and mentor Dr Dave Cooper, the official EKZN Wildlife Vet. I have studied for the past eight years to be a wildlife specialist and have worked with wildlife full-time for the past four years.”
Mike now works mainly in Zululand, but is often as far afield as the Kalahari, Eastern Cape, Mozambique, the UAE and soon the DRC.
His involvement with wildlife is diverse, from one of the smallest buck in Africa (the suni) to elephants. Projects have included innovative ways of controlling lion populations through lioness contraception and the translocation of the first lions to Rwanda. Elephant collaring, contraception, herd management and the translocation, as well as the micro management of one of the most endangered predators in Africa, the wild dog, have all had the value of his expertise.
Dr Toft has been involved in a number of high-profile rescues and was the initial treating physician on iThemba (Hope in isiZulu), the female rhino who survived a brutal attack by poachers who savagely hacked into her face to remove the horns.
His deep love of animals recently led him to rescue a two-day-old rhino calf. Abandoned by her mother, her future was precarious. Mike raised the funds for her capture and transportation. He darted, captured and transported the calf himself, and then donated her to the Thula-Thula rhino orphanage. A chance meeting with a concerned Swazi princess during transportation saw the little calf being blessed with the isiZulu name Makhosi.
Mike’s work for Save The Rhino involves a substantial rhino dehorning programme. The manner in which he dehorns the rhino leaves next to nothing on the horn base. “It is a complete dehorning so that the animal has no value on it for poachers,” he explains. This technique could be used more extensively, and is a process that requires repetition, based on the amount of growth of the horn. An adult would require this process once every three to four years and a juvenile can range from 18 months to two years.
Would this be the solution that could save the rhino? Government and private game farms are under pressure from poaching and are battling the financial costs involved in security. Yet, despite concerted efforts by various groups, poaching figures continue to rise.
“Until we can enable our rhino owners to look after their rhinos by generating an income from them, this is the only method that will save the rhino,” concludes Dr Mike Toft.
