24 
Bulletin ofthcEANHS 29(1/2) 
During fieldwork, responsibilities were rotated 
among each team so we had a chance to participate in 
all the studies, forticipation in all the activities exposed 
each one of us to the different methods and procedures 
Simple and cost effective techniques were used while a 
high quality of data was gathered It was usually exciting 
to move from one team to another working with a 
different scientist each and every day. I feel this is very 
important because at the end one feds that they have 
fully participated in the project as a whole 
The members of the scientific team are highly 
qualified in their specialised fields Each one of them 
is a dedicated and hardworking individual but here they 
work as a team Beside then specialised knowledge they 
have a knowledge of the park and Its surrounding areas 
During field work they look their time to explain things 
whenever necessary and were always ready to share 
their knowledge with ihc volunteers. They showed 
patience in answering our numerous questions I will 
never forget those afternoons when we sat outside with 
Michelle around a big table, each one of us with a 
container of invertebrates from various sites Our heads 
were fixed over the containers, sorting, identifying acid 
counting those little creatures, most of them so tiny 
that we had to use hand lenses to identify them A minute 
hardly passed before someone consulted Michelle about 
something that they could not identify even with the 
checklist in front of them She never became tired of 
our questions and this is just an example that showed 
how the scientists were so dcdicaicd and committed to 
their work and how patient they were wuh the volunteer* 
Also the park staff were very friendly and helpful 
I enjoyed most of the food I tried. I liked the way 
we shared all the responsibilities, this was done with 
teamwork ll was always so much fun doing things 
together 
The park and the surrounding areas were peaceful 
and quiet and therefore it was more enjoyable doing 
research with no obstruction I was told that in the 
summer, thousands of tourists come to Mallorca from 
all over the world. During this period, hundreds visit 
S'Alhufcra everyday 1 therefore prefer the timing ol 
ihc project because ihc research is done when there is 
less pressure on ihc park and less disturbance. 
Briefing before ihc actual fieldwork by the specialist 
scientist prepared us for the work involved Also 
volunteers were usually given a chance to talk about 
what they did during the day. Every day after dinner, 
we shared our daily experiences and consulted with 
each other This formed a vital part of the project’* 
evaluation 
What did 1 not like about the project? It all went too 
fast! I remember ihc last Saturday when we all sat 
outside with a cup of coffee w hile we volunteers talked 
about ourselves and what we do in our own country 
That was the time 1 felt that we were really soon to 
depart from each other's company, we had become 
friends. I just wished we could start all over again! 
Doricc Agol, c/o EANHS. Box 44486. Nairobi. Kenya 
BOOK REVIEW 
The Rhinoceros in Captivity , by L.C. Rookmaakcr, SPB 
Academic Publishing. Tlic Hague. 1998. 410 pages. 
Kccs Rookmaakcr has been extremely interested in 
rhinos his entire adult life. This book, a massive 
compilation of all known rhinov which have been in 
captivity from Roman times until 1994, would be a life’s 
work for most people, but not for Dr Rookmaakcr He 
has also produced other tomes which have taken years 
to compile such as The Zoological Exploration of 
Southern Africa 1650- 1 790 (A. A Balkema. Rotterdam, 
1989) and the only reasonably complete bibliography 
on the rhino entitled appropriately Bibliography of the 
Rhinoceros (A A Balkema, Rotterdam, 1983) 
Presently, Dr Rookmaakcr is the Curator of The Rhino 
Museum in Vaalwaicr in South Africa. Some of his 
time is now being spent putting logether in ihc museum 
the largest collection of articles, books and offprints on 
die five species of rhinos, over 5,000 items. 
The Rhinoceros in Captivity is divided into ten 
chapters with the bulk of the text devoted to references 
of the five extant rhino species in captivity: the Indian, 
Javan. Sumatnm, black and while. The author has been 
able to list 2,439 rhinos in captivity, from only 22 for 
the Javan to 1 . 105 for the white, despite the fact that 
the first specimen of a white rhino only arrived at a zoo 
as laic as 1946 (p.245) 
Tins book is not just made up of a list of rhinos in 
various axis, safari parks and circuses. There is a large 
amount ol descriptive text giving details of some of the 
individual animal*. One of the more fascinating themes 
which runs through the volume is the importance of 
wild animal dealers, they were mostly Europeans who 
went to Africa and Asia to catch the animals An 
interesting book could be written about these men. some 
well known and other* obscure individuals Perhaps Dr 
Rookmaakcr could consider such a proposal for future 
w*yrk 
Obviously, with such an ambitious project to list 
every single rhino ever caught over 20 centuries there 
will be omissions Dr Rookmaakcr admits he has not 
found all the references (p.4j The most conspicuous 
oversight for Kenya has been the lack of any mention of 
Ol Jogi Ranch which has 16 black and three white 
rhinos In a larger geographical context there is a 
shortage of data for rhinos in Russia, this is probably 
due to the fact that the author has spent little lime in 
Russia and the zoo authorities there failed to 
communicate adequately with him 
I would like to disagree with Dr Rookmaakcr on 
one point He say* on page 155 that "the black rhino is 
not easily tamed like the other species". However, wild 
black rhinos can be tamed in only a few days, unlike 
white rhinos which take longer. I remember visiting 
some white rlunos enclosed in bomas in Kroger National 
Park which had not become tame after one month in 
captivity. 
