(Posted 11th June 2025)
Following months of extensive planning and working with various experts in the field, I am very pleased to share a significant milestone: the translocation of 70 southern white rhino to Rwanda’s Akagera National Park. As part of the Rhino Rewild Initiative, this translocation, made possible with funding from The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, is the project’s first cross-continental move and aims to bolster Akagera’s white rhino population so that it can contribute more meaningfully to regional conservation efforts, reinforcing Rwanda’s growing role in global rhino conservation.
In 2021, we moved 30 southern white rhinos to Akagera National Park. This initial population has increased to 41 animals today. Building on this success, the additional 70 animals will now play a crucial role in ensuring the presence of meta-populations across the continent, presenting opportunities for future range expansion.
To improve their ability to adapt to their new home, the rhinos were initially moved within South Africa from the Rhino Rewild site to the Munywana Conservancy. This preliminary stage of rewilding exposed the rhinos to naturally occurring diseases such as Trypanosomiasis and climatic conditions similar to Akagera. The final phase of the 3,400 km journey involved the rhinos being transported by truck in individual steel crates from the Munywana Conservancy to King Shaka International Airport in Durban. They were then carefully loaded by cranes into a Boeing 747, flown to Kigali International Airport, and finally transported to Akagera National Park by road. The journey from the Conservancy to the park took approximately two days for each of the two groups, with continuous monitoring of their wellbeing by veterinary teams.
Translocations are highly complex operations that demand months of meticulous planning and thorough risk assessments by world-renowned translocation and veterinary experts prior to implementation. Now that the rhinos have been released into Akagera, a dedicated veterinary team will monitor their health and behaviour closely for several weeks to ensure proper adaptation to their new environment and management of any stress associated with the move.
This is the largest translocation of its kind, and we are extremely grateful to the Rwanda Development Board, the Munywana Conservancy, and conservation and translocation experts, for their partnership and collaboration in making it possible. We extend our deep appreciation to The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and to the founder funders of Rhino Rewild, The Rob Walton Foundation and Pershing Square Foundation.
Best regards,
Peter Fearnhead
CEO
African Parks
