Between 30 and 40 Southern White Rhinos were left in the wild in the 1930s, almost extinct.
But organisations such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have praised efforts of recovering figures of white rhinos since 2012, despite pressure from poaching.
There are now 17,500 recorded, down from 21,000, in 2012, due to poaching.
The African Parks’ Rhino Rewild initiative, is an ambitious plan to rewild 2,000 southern white rhino and restore to secure protected areas across Africa over the next 10 years. It is a key initiative purposed to contribute to the future of the species by moving all 2,000 rhinos from the breeding facility into well-managed, secured protected areas across Africa.
This will establish or supplement strategic rhino populations, where their presence contributes to healthy ecosystems that benefit biodiversity.
A group of southern white rhino were translocated to Dinokeng Game Reserve in north-eastern Gauteng, this month.
The translocation was implemented as a joint initiative between African Parks, Dinokeng Game Reserve, WeWild Africa and the Global Humane Conservation Fund of Africa.
Dinokeng Game Reserve, a 19,000-hectare conservation area within the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a unique collaboration between 180 landowners, including the Gauteng Provincial Government.
Key funders of Rhino Rewild include the Rob Walton Foundation and the Pershing Square Foundation. WeWild Africa and the Aspinall Foundation provide ongoing support for translocations, with the Global Humane Conservation Fund of Africa funding this translocation to Dinokeng Game Reserve.
Donovan Jooste, Project Manager, African Parks’ Rhino Rewild Initiative said “the success of Rhino Rewild is about collaboration and working with partners who share the vision of creating safe wild spaces and managing them effectively, in which wildlife, and in this case, rhino, can thrive. Dinokeng Game Reserve fits that profile where we know these rhino will be protected and can contribute to impactful conservation within South Africa that also benefits local communities.”
Hartogh Streicher, Dinokeng Management Association Chairperson said “we are extremely pleased to receive these rhino from African Parks, to supplement our current population of southern white rhino, enhancing this big five destination, and fulfilling our vision for this landscape. Our main focus is on restoring once-degraded lands through rehabilitation and conservation and ensuring that people and nature can grow together. We are proud to be part of African Parks’ continent-wide conservation strategy to restore and protect a species as iconic as the rhino.”
Picture: Wiki West