SanParks vet a custodian of the wild

It was just a day before the country went into lockdown when Dr David Zimmermann, a veterinarian, found himself in a desperate race against time to save a critically ill baby rhino.

The young female rhino, recently translocated within Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape, had fallen critically ill with babesiosis, a tick-borne disease previously unrecorded in rhinos at the park. Her chances of survival were slim.

“I had to rush between Port Elizabeth and Addo [which are an hour apart] three times a day to run tests, get medication and go and get the correct one and the one we had wasn't effective,

"We had never successfully treated a case like this before. But somehow, we pulled her through.”

Today, that rhino still walks the wild landscape of Addo, healthy, strong, and a living symbol of hope.

For 55-year-old Zimmermann, the desperate race to save the rhino and the success of it remains one of the most uplifting moments of his decades-long career as a wildlife veterinarian.

"It was one of my proudest moment. My team and I had never successfully saved an animal with this disease before."

As a senior veterinarian with SA National Parks (SANParks), his work extends far beyond clinical treatment. It is about ecology, survival, ethics, and emotion. From putting GPS devices on elephants to track them, treating penguins to  tagging sharks to mark them and tracking disease outbreaks... his job involves keeping wild populations healthy while protecting the humans who share those landscapes.

But what led him here?

Zimmermann's love for wildlife began in the Natal grasslands, where he grew up surrounded by natural beauty and animals. He loved the trees, the fact that there was a lot of space in between house and that animals were roaming around.

He then studied to be a vet, but not to work in a clinic but rather a park full of animals.

"I wanted to work in a place that looked like my childhood home. I'm very passionate about connecting people to the environment. I think at the end of the day, we all need that connection and we've lost that connection in a lot of respects. A lot of people, unfortunately, grow up in an urban environment or in a township environment and just don't get that opportunity anymore."

He started working for Addo in 2002 and never went back home.

However, when he returned years later, the picture had drastically changed.

“Much of where I grew up has been completely transformed. It’s not easy to bring that wildness back," he said.

With over 24 years at the park, one of the toughest parts of Zimmermann’s work is losing an animal to death, an animal that doesn't adapt to it's new environment after being moved to a new location, a deadly outbreak that can’t be contained, or the heart-wrenching decision to euthanise an animal.

In these moments, science collides with emotion. Zimmermann said that every action, even the decision to cull, must be weighed with ethical consideration and ecosystem health.

“It’s never easy. But sometimes, it’s necessary for the survival of the greater population.”

Whether it’s testing buffalo for diseases, rescuing escaped lions, helping communities deal with snakes, or saving sick rhinos, Zimmermann sees himself not just as a veterinarian, but as a custodian of the wild. He works to ensure that both animals and people can coexist safely, sustainably, and respectfully.

SowetanLIVE