A qualified veterinary nurse, Robin Allix has in recent years travelled to South Africa in order to take part in conservation work aimed at preventing wild animals from being targeted by poachers. She spoke to TOM OGG about the work and her lifelong love of wildlife
MANY of us will take part in voluntary work at some stage in our lives. There are few, however, for whom such work will entail travelling halfway across the globe to perform potentially life-saving operations on live elephants, leopards and black rhinos.
Yet such is the work undertaken by Robin Allix, who is a qualified veterinary nurse with a passion for wildlife, and who has now twice visited South Africa in order to assist with nursing injured animals back to health and to carry out preventative conservation work to stave off poachers.
“I have always had an interest in working with wildlife, especially big game located in and around Africa,” says the Jersey-born vet nurse, having recently returned to the Island following her latest conservation expedition.
“No two days are ever the same when it comes to working with wild animals. And the work is always so incredibly varied.”
The work in question sees Robin volunteering alongside members of Wildscapes, an organisation dedicated to preserving the wildlife and natural beauty of Africa.
Typically, Robin and the Wildscapes team work in and around Hoedspruit, a town located in the Limpopo province of South Africa and situated at the foot of the Klein Drakensberg (Small Dragon Mountains).
“I know someone who is heavily involved in the anti-poaching units that work extensively around different countries in Africa and it was they who first pointed me in the direction of Wildscapes,” says Robin.
“After speaking with [Wildscapes], I managed to gain an internship last year, and then again this year during their busy winter months.”
The 2024 visit marked the first time Robin had been to South Africa, with the adventurous 32-year-old initially spending time in Cape Town before then venturing across to Hoedspruit.
“I travel over for a couple of weeks at a time,” she says. “There have been times, whilst there, that I have worked alongside other veterinary teams dotted around the area and the surrounding reserves, including its ranger units.
“We sometimes have projects that are booked [in advance] for which we will be in designated reserves working with particular teams, whether for collaring, de-horning or relocation. And then at other times we will be on standby for emergencies, which can come through at any time, and which include de-snaring, human-wildlife conflicts, poaching, escapees or general injuries.”
Given the unpredictable nature of, well, nature, the working hours are often long, with 19- to 20-hour days a not uncommon occurrence.
“We would usually would start at 5am and then finish somewhere between 10pm to 1am the following morning,” says Robin. “But, regardless of the hours, the one thing all of the days have in common is that they are always rewarding.”
A common practise is the aforementioned “de-horning”, which is carried out on both white and black rhinos.
As Robin explains, the word “dehorning” is somewhat misleading, with the reality being altogether less severe than the term might initially suggest.
“It is quite deceiving, yes, as we do not, in fact, remove any of the horns, but rather we trim them in order to lower the animal’s monetary value to poachers.
“Of course, this provokes some very conflicting emotions because you are causing such unnecessary stress to the animals, but you are essentially doing it in order to protect them from human greed.”
The process of trimming the horn of a live rhino is every bit as complex as one would imagine it to be.
“First, we would need to dart the rhinos from out of a helicopter. We use loud sirens to scare them in order to make them head in a particular direction so that the ground team can then reach and treat them as quickly as possible.
“Once the rhino is darted, the ground team is informed through walkie-talkies and they then move into position. The rhino tends to either collapse or go into a delirious trot, similar to that of a dressage horse. We would then carefully blindfold them and tip them over onto their side.”
The rhino is then manoeuvred into a “sternal position” to avoid pressure on its lungs, before Robin and the team affix an IV catheter, ear buds (rhinos have incredibly sensitive hearing) and an eye lubricant to avoid dry eye, as well as a steady flow of oxygen.
The team also spray the rhino’s hinds with white spraypaint to ensure the same rhino isn’t darted twice on future dehorning projects.
“Rhinos do not react well to anaesthesia and tend to go into respiratory distress,” says Robin. “It is distressing to see. But you have to keep reminding yourself that this is for their benefit. It will lower the chances of them being poached and thus prevent them losing their lives in a barbaric way.”
The actual process of removing the horn entails first drawing a chalk outline in order to avoid the “growth plate” (areas of cartilage near the ends of long bones) and then using a chainsaw to cut away the excess horn.
“Once the horn has been cut away, we file it down to avoid any sharp edges and then use hoof oil to avoid any cracking as this underlying part of the horn is not used to sunlight.
“We then remove all ear buds, oxygen and so on, and give the rhino its reversal [a reverse-anaesthetic that causes it to wake] using a vein in the ear, before removing the blindfold. To monitor its recovery, we stand about 20 metres away or watch from the trucks to ensure it recovers well.”
Rhino horn is made of keratin, which is the same material as human fingernails, and, as such, the horns grow back over time (within 18 months a horn will have regrown roughly 1.8kg). The de-horning procedure, therefore, is one that needs to be repeated to ensure the animals don’t once again become a tempting prospect for poachers.
“We treat both white and black rhino, both of which have very different inductions and recoveries,” says Robin. “For example, white rhinos are quite docile and will usually wake up and run off into the bush. With black rhinos, you certainly cannot stand close to them on the ground or have your trucks parked nearby with black rhinos as they will immediately charge. They tend to be very aggressive.”
Asked what qualities she feels make the rhino such a magnificent creature, Robin replies: “Oh, rhinos will always have a very special place in my heart. Apart from their amazing anatomy and size, they all have such lovely personalities – they are cheeky characters. They are so resilient and the bonds between cow and calf are just wonderful to see. They are incredibly attentive and protective parents.”
In addition to rhinos, Robin has also worked alongside elephants, wild dogs, lions, giraffe, leopards, buffalo and a range of impala and antelope species.
“As I said, no two days are ever the same and the work often involves some really exciting animals involved.”
Raised in St Saviour, Robin attended Hautlieu and Les Quennevais schools, with her love for animals clear for all to see from an early age. This, after all, was a young girl who cited Steve Irwin, Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall as her childhood heroes.
“I think I’ve had a fascination for animals ever since I could string a sentence together,” she says. “I loved them from the get-go.”
After graduating, Robin worked full-time at New Era Veterinary Hospital, a job for which she had been hankering since her pre-teen years.
“I still remember – and I often get reminded of this – annoying everyone at New Era when I was 12 years old, pestering them for a job,” she laughs. “I got there in the end.”
In total, Robin would work at New Era for seven and a half years, before then relocating to the UK and studying veterinary nursing at Myerscough College in Preston. It was after this that her overseas voluntary work began.
When it comes to picking memorable moments from her visits to South Africa, Robin initially struggles to answer (“That’s a difficult question as there have been so many moments”), but eventually opts for two occurrences, one involving elephants and the other leopards.
“I will never forget the de-snaring of two elephants, one being a baby which had a snare around its trunk. It was embedded pretty deep but, once removed, we watched them wake up and find each other, both happy and healthy.
“And then there was the capture of the famous Nat Geo [National Geographic] leopard, which had a previous snare wound which had broken down, and so we darted it in order to resuture and gain samples for research. Watching the leopard wake up in the bush on the back of the bakkie [small truck] with the rangers and a beer in hand after a hard day’s work – it was certainly a highlight.
“The opportunity to work and assist and fight for the welfare of animals, well, it has been a lifelong goal,” she adds. “It is something to which I am incredibly dedicated. Being able to travel around the world as a veterinary nurse and conservationist has been incredible, to say the least. And I’ve worked alongside such amazing people, whether they are vets, nurses, researchers or otherwise. I have met so many inspiring people in my career and I’ve definitely created some long-lasting friendships.”
All of which begs the question: will Robin be returning to South Africa for a third time?
“Oh, I absolutely adore South Africa and will 100% be going again, yes,” she says. “However I think for my next volunteer position I might look towards Kenya or even the USA – who knows?”
