Despite the continuing threat of rhino poaching across the whole of East Africa, the Kenyan Wildlife Service, with financial and technical support from WWF, has just announced a series of important conservation breakthroughs.
The last time a Black Rhino could be described as truly wild was in the mid to late 1980s, when unrestrained hunting had reduced their number from 20,000 in 1970 to just under 400. Thanks to concerted conservation efforts the population has now increased to 609. But until now all of these have had to be kept within fenced game reserves for their own protection.
The first recent breakthrough is the establishment of an Intensive Protected Area for Black Rhino in the Tsavo West in southern Kenya. This is secure enough and has sufficient resources to provide a consistent breeding stock of Black Rhino along with other successful programmes established in the cities of Nairobi and Nakuru. A total of 17 Black Rhino births have so far been reported for 2009, although this is expected to slow in coming years due to a reduction in rhino breeding health caused by a recent drought.
It has also been possible to identify locations safe enough and with sufficient natural resources to release 57 Black Rhinos from this breeding programme since 2007. This has not only helped increased the population of Black Rhino by 40% since 1997, but also refreshed the gene pool in areas where breeding has slowed.
Uniquely, although most of these sites are still within fenced areas, 10 Black Rhino have been successfully relocated to two ‘free range’ sites, putting them back in the wild. They are, however, still very carefully protected. Each one is fitted with a tracking device in its horn, and is sighted every week by a special wildlife patrol tasked with their protection.
Andrew McVey, WWF-UK’s species programme officer, said: “Because numbers of Black Rhino reached such a low, up until this point we have been essentially farming these animals in order to save them. It can be a costly business, and we are always looking for new ways to get more resources. But these techniques are tried and tested. This is what saved the White Rhino, so we are very excited to reach this important milestone.”