<\/em>Red List. That means the 2,000 southern white rhinos that African Parks bought, and plans to spread around the continent, comprise more than 10% of the remaining population. <\/p>\n Although the international trade of rhino horn has been banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) since 1977, demand from consumers in Asia who see it as a status symbol, or falsely believe it can cure ailments ranging from hangovers to cancer, is still driving poaching. <\/p>\n
Poachers sometimes kill a rhino outright, or tranquilize it before cutting off its horn, sometimes hacking off a large portion of the animal\u2019s face, leaving it bleeding to death. <\/p>\n
In South Africa, where the majority of the population lives, 420 rhinos were poached in 2024. More than 100 were killed in the first three months of this year. <\/p>\n
Tench says that rhino poaching was rampant in the continent from 2012 to 2015, and a \u201clot has been accomplished since then.\u201d He added that Kenya lost no rhinos last year and that poaching has dropped significantly in Zimbabwe. Today, poaching is mostly concentrated in South Africa and Namibia, he says. <\/p>\n
To better address the issue, Tench says more government resources should be dedicated to addressing the organized criminal networks behind the poaching and international trading of rhino horn, and to increased international cooperation. <\/p>\n
Rickelton says there are a number of future relocation projects in various stages of discussion and planning. He adds that a strong framework is in place to ensure the locations that receive the rhinos provide a suitable habitat, security to keep the animals safe, and enough funding to care for them. <\/p>\n
The move to Akagera National Park took more than a year and a half of planning and approvals. And the cost of moving each rhino, including three years of monitoring and management afterwards, is about $50,000 (the move was backed by the Howard G. Buffet Foundation). <\/p>\n
The animals were first moved from the breeding program facility to the South African private game reserve Munywana Conservancy, to expose them to conditions more like Akagera. Then, the rhinos were loaded into individual steel crates, driven to an airport in Durban, South Africa, and carefully loaded by crane onto a Boeing 747. <\/p>\n
After arrival in Kigali, Rwanda, the rhinos made the final leg of their journey by road. Now, the rhinos need to adapt to their new environment. They\u2019ll be monitored by a veterinary team for several weeks. <\/p>\n
Measures like a canine unit to reduce poaching are in place in Akagera, which has reduced poaching to \u201cnear zero\u201d levels, according to the park. <\/p>\n
There\u2019s reason for optimism. In 2021, African Parks moved 30 rhinos to Akagera from a private game reserve in South Africa. Since, they\u2019ve had 11 offspring. With the addition of 70 more rhinos, \u201cwe\u2019ve now established a genetically viable herd of rhino,\u201d says Rickelton. <\/p>\n
He says that seeing the rhinos emerge from their crates at the end of the journey \u201cmakes months and months of really hard work and frustration and challenges really worth it.\u201d Rickelton adds: \u201cIt\u2019s a story of hope in a world of not too much positive.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n
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