Rhino Relocations

[Richprins]

Good luck to them!

[Lisbeth]

African Parks rewilds first rhinos bought from Hume breeding operation

Posted on May 16, 2024 by African Parks in the NEWS DESK post series.


African Parks has donated 40 southern white rhino to Munywana Conservancy in South Africa – the first step of a continent-wide initiative to rewild 2,000 rhinos, purchased from John Hume’s rhino breeding operation
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African Parks has officially launched the rewilding phase of ‘Rhino Rewild’, an ambitious plan to rewild 2,000 southern white rhinos into secure protected areas in Africa over the next ten years. In the first move of this continent-wide effort, 40 southern white rhinos were donated to the Munywana Conservancy in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to support the conservancy’s successful conservation and community efforts.

The white rhinos will bolster Munywana Conservancy’s current rhino population. This marks the first translocation under ‘Rhino Rewild,’ an African Parks initiative to rewild 2,000 southern white rhinos, purchased from John Hume’s Platinum Rhino farm, into secure protected areas in Africa.

The Munywana Conservancy has a historical foundation: in 2007, 9,085 hectares of land were returned to its ancestral owners, the Makhasa and Mnqobokazi communities, as part of South Africa’s land restitution process. Both communities requested that the land continue to be kept under conservation. Through this legacy, the Munywana Conservancy, now a 29,866-hectare reserve, is upheld through a collaboration of community and private landowners that include the Makhasa Community Trust, the Mnqobokazi Community Trust, &Beyond Phinda and Zuka Private Game Reserves.

“We are extremely pleased to receive these 40 rhino from African Parks to supplement the current population of white rhinos at our community conservancy,” says Thokozani Mlambo, chairperson of the Makhasa Trust, one of the four primary shareholders of the Munywana Conservancy. “We see this as recognition of the important role that community-owned land plays in conservation, and we are proud to be collaborating in such a significant partnership to rewild rhinos across our continent.”

The Munywana Conservancy offers a secure environment to support the rewilding of southern white rhino. With this move, Munywana’s current rhino population will be bolstered, enhancing genetic diversity, aiding future rhino translocations to other locations, and supporting tourism – a key driver of the local economy.

In September 2023, African Parks purchased the world’s largest captive rhino breeding operation – John Hume’s Platinum Rhino farm – which was facing financial collapse. The initiative’s main objective is to rewild all the rhinos to well-managed and secure protected areas, thereby establishing or supplementing strategic populations and ultimately helping to de-risk the species’ future.

“I am especially pleased to see that the very first translocation of some of the 2,000 white rhinos are going to this important landscape within South Africa, which is a flagship partnership in which communities are making a significant contribution to the conservation of our natural heritage,” says Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment. “On behalf of the Government of South Africa, we were very supportive of African Parks’ plan to purchase and rewild these rhino and remain a key partner in providing technical and scientific advice, and the support needed to carry out this conservation solution in South Africa and on the African continent.”


A southern-white rhino calf, one of the rhinos bred on John Hume’s Platinum Rhino farm

To achieve a successful outcome of this translocation, the animals’ body condition and parasite adaptation will be closely monitored as they adjust to their new environment. In addition, the conservancy will implement its intensive security measures to ensure the safety of the 40 dehorned rhino.


The capture team gently leads an anesthetized rhino to the crate for transport

“We believe that both African Parks and the Munywana have the same ethos and guiding principles when it comes to conservation, and in that spirit the Munywana has gladly accepted this donation, enabling these rhino to commence the process of becoming fully wild and free roaming,” says Dale Wepener, Munywana warden and conservation manager.

This first translocation was carried out by African Parks, &Beyond Phinda, Conservation Solutions and WeWild Africa, and the financial support for the move was provided by the Aspinall Foundation and the Wildlife Emergency Fund. “We recognise the magnitude and logistical feat of moving 2,000 rhino. This is just the beginning of a long-term partnership with African Parks where we can play our part in making a tangible contribution to the future of the southern white rhino in Africa,” says Damian Aspinall, chairperson of WeWild Africa.

The southern white rhino is under extreme pressure due to poaching and habitat loss, hence the need for well-protected areas to allow them to thrive. While southern white rhinos reached an all-time low of 30 to 40 animals in the 1930s, effective conservation measures increased the population to approximately 20,000 individuals by 2012. However, the dramatic rise in poaching has decreased their numbers to approximately 16,000 today. White rhinos are mega-herbivores that are important in shaping savannahs, which store approximately 30% of the world’s terrestrial carbon. Where rhinos are present, there is an increase in both flora and fauna, and thriving wild rhino populations are indicators of ecosystem renewal.


Rhinos being released into bomas as part of the habituation process in Munywana Conservancy

“The crux of the solution, and the ultimate success for rewilding these 2,000 rhino, lies in the existence of safe, well-protected and effectively managed areas across Africa, of which the Munywana Conservancy is an excellent example,” says Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks, an organisation that manages 22 protected areas in partnership with governments and communities in 12 countries. “Rhino Rewild is one of our most ambitious undertakings to date, where together with a multitude of governmental, conservation and community organisations, and key funders, we have the rare opportunity to help de-risk a species, and in the process to help secure some of the most critical conservation areas not just in Africa, but in the world.”

The Rob Walton Foundation, the Pershing Square Foundation, WeWild Africa, the Aspinall Foundation, and the Wildlife Emergency Fund are among Rhino Rewild’s initial funders.


The capture team holds guiding straps on a rhino

[Lisbeth]

Historic rewilding of 120 rhinos into the Greater Kruger National Park area


Releasing the rhinos initially into a temporary holding boma allows time for mothers and calves to be reunited after their journey to the greater Kruger habitat. (Photo: Rifumo Mathebula)

By Sharon Haussmann | 07 Jun 2024

Environmental history was made on Friday 7 June 2024 when the last of 120 white rhinos was released into the network of private and communal reserves on the western border of the Kruger National Park. The operation was carried out under a strict veil of secrecy to ensure its security.
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It has been over 15 years since the poaching crisis first hit Greater Kruger, when heightened demand for rhino horn in Asian markets sparked an unprecedented onslaught on the world’s largest rhino population.

It has been impossible to quantify the destruction of the crisis — on rhino populations and ecosystems, but above all, on the hearts, minds and morale of people who’ve had to witness its brutality day in and out.

Yet today, Friday 7 June 2024, we celebrate an unexpected milestone amid significant anti-poaching successes. Over the past few weeks, a historic rewilding project has seen 120 southern white rhinos translocated to private reserves along Kruger National Park’s western boundary. These rhinos have arrived, marking a successful end to this translocation, which forms part of African Parks’ Rhino Rewild initiative.

After such protracted devastation in this area, it is a remarkable sign of positivity, progress and hope.


The translocation of 120 rhinos is an enormous undertaking and has resulted in many sleepless nights but it has been worth it. (Photo: Mike Dexter)

In September last year, African Parks announced it would rewild the 2,000 rhinos it had bought from the world’s largest private captive rhino breeding operation. Around the same time, here along the western edges of Kruger, we were reflecting on security gains with cautious optimism. Criminality continues to be a significant threat, but poaching rates, particularly among our private reserves, have stabilised significantly. In the last three years, specifically, we have seen positive rhino population growth.

On behalf of our private member reserves, the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) submitted a proposal to African Parks to return some of the rhino to their historic Greater Kruger habitat — an unfenced landscape of over 2.5 million hectares. Not only did it represent a chance to offset losses and restore a healthy rhino population in the landscape — but we could also offer a suitable habitat for the rhino to live a free and natural life. It was an extraordinary opportunity that arose through extraordinary circumstances.

Of course, there is no way to plan, coordinate and execute such a translocation without being clear-eyed about the many risks involved — including the ongoing threat of poaching. Thankfully, this is the most security-stable time to be taking this risk.

When the poaching onslaught first began, the threat was new. People equipped with the mindset, skills and propensity for a career in conservation suddenly found themselves scrambling to deter, mitigate and deal with a complex form of organised crime. Now, so many years and losses later, we have the partnerships, knowledge and expertise to be proactive and effective in our responses.


A capture team ‘walks’ a rhino to its crate after being darted on the African Parks Rhino Rewild location. (Photo: Mike Dexter)

Hard-fought battle

Every day on this frontline has brought hard-won lessons. It has been a frequently painful school of life that has incurred a tremendous toll, but in the process, it has produced world leaders. A case in point is Project Fire, an unprecedented study published last year, which analysed intervention and poaching data from 11 reserves in the area over a five-year period.

GKEPF was formed in 2016 as a security alliance of 11 parks and reserves to unite in their anti-poaching efforts and approach. We’ve been able to establish that most elusive of collaborations: a well-functioning public-private partnership. And we’ve seen significant anti-poaching success.

Dr Sam Ferreira, Large Mammal Ecologist at South African National Parks (SANParks) and Scientific Officer for the African Rhino Specialist Group, attributes this success to GKEPF’s partnerships and operations.

“GKEPF focuses on workable areas, where reserves have been able to implement access controls and the cost-effective monitoring of rhino. They know their rhino well, and have excellent situational awareness by covering small enough areas. They’ve also attained and manage high levels of integrity among personnel. All these factors, with strong partnerships at the core, have enabled them to keep rhino safe.”

He adds: “Despite many challenges, the management team are still positive about having a healthy population of free-ranging rhinos. The resilience shown in that is just remarkable. People in this landscape have earned the right to do this. They have earned the privilege.”


Collaboration is at the heart of GKEPF’s mandate. GKEPF CEO, Sharon Haussmann, talks to Benjamin Kossama from Sabi Sand Nature Reserve while watching rhino being released into a holding boma. (Photo: Cathan Moore)

Population boost

Ferreira also explains that the rewilding project is a tremendous opportunity to restore rhino populations and some of their vital ecological functions.

“As mega-herbivores, white rhino can be thought of as ecosystem engineers that contribute cascade effects in the landscape. For instance, where they graze, they leave behind shorter grass suitable for small antelope, which in turn provide prey for predators. They help to create water holes and wallows. And rhino dung helps to disperse seeds and provide nutrients that help multiple other species thrive.”

How the rewilded rhino will adapt to their new landscape presents many unknowns — including how they will interact with existing populations, predators and other large mammals like elephant. That the habitat here is optimal for the species is indisputable, and this was a key consideration.


The rhinos are released into a temporary holding boma for two days to recover from the sedative drugs used during the process. This also allows vets to monitor the rhinos to ensure they are healthy before they are released into the Greater Kruger system. (Photo: Cathan Moore)

“This will be the first re-introduction of rhino into this landscape in about 50 years,” says Markus Hofmeyr, wildlife vet and Director of the Rhino Recovery Fund, who formed part of the rewilding planning and oversight. “We know rhino do well in the Lowveld. We know there will be losses from adaptation, but we don’t expect them to be significant.

“The rhino are coming in dehorned, which has been shown to be a very effective way to decrease poaching risk in this landscape,” adds Hofmeyr. “We do need to go in with our eyes wide open, which everybody is — but no success ever happens without taking some form of risk. We’re at a point where this risk is well calculated.”


The rhinos are all dehorned and fitted with trackers to assist with locating and monitoring the rhinos once released into the Greater Kruger. (Photo: Cathan Moore)

While African Parks are donating the animals, the translocation itself comes with a hefty price tag — as does the close, ongoing security monitoring of the rhino. This is a critical part of the process, with extensive network surveillance.

The data gathered will help to inform future translocations for African Parks’ Rhino Rewild initiative. But beyond that, in a time where “rewilding” has become a buzzword, it will also help to guide processes for restoring ecosystems across the globe.

“We can draw from these insights,” says Hofmeyr. “It’s an urgent and important function that we cannot discount, and we need to promote it positively as much as we can, so that people are willing to take those risks.

“Our own existence depends on having healthy ecosystems, and often animals are part of making sure those ecosystems function correctly.” DM

Sharon Haussmann is CEO of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation.

[Richprins]

Notice they don't dare put any into corrupt Kruger or Ezimvelo!

[Lisbeth]

They are not stupid!

[Lisbeth]

Is this the most critical wildlife conservation undertaking of our time?



by Simon Espley, Thursday, 22 August 2024




Click on the title to read the whole story!

[Richprins]

What a lovely story!

[Lisbeth]

[Lisbeth]

How are Greater Kruger’s 120 rewilded rhinos doing?

Posted on January 16, 2025 by teamAG


120 rhinos rewilded into Greater Kruger as part of the African Parks Rhino Rewild initiative are, on the whole, doing well. The success of the initial stages of the rewilding project reveals a story of adaptation and resilience. The project has demonstrated many successes and a few challenges as these rhinos settle into their new homes. We checked in with Sharon Haussmann, CEO of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation, to see how the rewilded rhinos are doing.
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In the winter months of 2024, 120 southern white rhinos, part of the world’s largest privately farmed rhino herd, took their first steps into the wild bushveld of Greater Kruger, South Africa – under the care of the member reserves of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF). This was no ordinary wildlife introduction. It was the beginning of a bold strategy by African Parks to rewild 2,000 rhinos – a herd representing 12% of the global population of southern white rhinos.

All introduced rhinos have been closely monitored by GKEPF, allowing us a detailed view of their progress.

The initial weeks in the wild were a period of intense adaptation for the rhinos, according to GKEPF’s Sharon Haussmann. Released from the boma into the vast and unfenced reserves, they needed to adjust to fluctuating resources. Unlike their wild counterparts, these rhinos were accustomed to supplemental feed and controlled conditions. In the bushveld, they must forage for seasonally available grasses. The pachyderms must also contend with predators and wild territorial rhino bulls – challenges they had not been exposed to on the farm.

The risks of rewilding farmed rhinos are significant. Yet, an initial analysis of their progress attests that the planning from African Parks and GKEPF has mitigated many of these risks.


Rewilded rhinos at a waterhole

Initial integration and movement

Click on the title to read more about this remarkable successful initiative.

[Richprins]

Good news!