Late last year, tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia under the Ruparelia Foundation “adopted” a baby rhino at the Uganda Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola, but his wildlife conservation efforts didn’t begin yesterday.
In 2001, which is 20 years ago, Sudhir sponsored the translocation of a then three-year-old rhino from Solio Ranch in Kenya to the Entebbe Zoo. The rhino was named Kabira, after his Kabira Country Club.
On Tuesday, a public holiday to remember slain Archbishop Janani Luwum, Sudhir and his family visited the Ugand Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe and was pleased that now 23-year-old Kabira, Uganda’s oldest male rhino was in good health.
While at the zoo, Sudhir had the opportunity to feed baby elephants with the UWEC staff and witness a surgical procedure on a lion. He applauded the improvements at the facility.
“It is worth a visit,” Sudhir summed up his experience while endorsing the facility.
The Ruparelia Foundation also supports the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary and in 2018 “adopted” a baby chimp and named it Ruparelia. During last year’s lockdown as the facility was not receiving any tourists, the Ruparelia Foundation made a Shs10m donation to help feed the animals on the island.