By African Parks
(Posted 23rd September 2022)
| Today, on World Rhino Day, we’re celebrating the work we have done for rhino conservation in Africa. Poaching is having a devastating impact on the survival of the rhino species, but through strong partnerships we’ve embarked on projects to revive rhino populations where they were once lost. |
| African Parks teams, across the 22 parks under our management, are dedicated to protecting and restoring threatened and endangered species, such as rhino. Since our start we have prioritised translocations of key species, into stabilised protected areas, where law enforcement, eco-system services and communities can support and ensure their long-term survival. To safeguard rhino populations, we’re proud of our track record so far: In 2003, together with Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), we brought black rhino to Majete Wildlife Reserve after they disappeared there in the late 1990s. |
| In 2017, together with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, a viable population of Eastern black rhino was reintroduced to Akagera National Park, returning the species to Rwanda. This was followed by an additional smaller group brought from European zoos in 2019, making Akagera’s black rhino populations one of the most genetically diverse of the subspecies in the world. |
| In 2019, another viable population of black rhino was translocated from South Africa to Liwonde National Park in Malawi in collaboration with the DNPW, World Wide Fund (WWF) South Africa and Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, to boost both populations. |
| And in 2021, in partnership with RDB, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and &Beyond, we translocated 30 southern white rhinos from Phinda Game Reserve in South Africa to Akagera National Park in Rwanda, in the largest rhino translocation ever to take place. This World Rhino Day, we invite you to join us in celebrating our success for rhino conservation. |
| Team African Parks |
