Rhino Relocation
Nine Black Rhinos relocate to The Serengeti from South Africa
- 16th October 2019
As part of the efforts to repopulate the Serengeti with the critically endangered species, nine black rhino have recently been flown into Tanzania from a game farm in South Africa.
Hunted and killed by poachers for their horn, prized in parts of Asia, where it is thought to have medicinal properties, Africa’s rhinoceros population is slowly creeping back up. Importantly the geographic range of black rhinos has also increased with their reintroduction into areas previously been populated by these wonderful species. Subsequently, today’s numbers are now closer to 5,500 compared to just 2,410 in the 1990s.
This, most recent move, completed on 10 September 2019, saw an increase to Tanzania’s national population of almost 10%. The nine rhinos join two eastern black rhinos previously relocated in an ambitious and essential effort to save the species from extinction.
In 2015 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) estimated there were only 133 Black Rhino left in Tanzania. The population now stands at 167 thanks to vital projects such as the Grumeti Fund, a non-profit organisation, supporting this particular relocation and carrying out wildlife conservation in the Serengeti.
“The arrival of the nine black rhinos is in line with the government’s conservation plans that aim to increase the number..in their natural habitats” – Tanzania’s Deputy Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Constantine Kanyasu
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