In the first steps of a continent-wide effort to rewild 2000 southern white rhinos, the first 40 have found their new roaming grounds in KwaZulu-Natal!
Johannesburg, South Africa (17 May 2024) — Conservation organisation 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 10 years. In the first move of this continent-wide effort, 40 southern white rhino have made their way to the Munywana Conservancy in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, in support of the conservancy’s successful conservation and community efforts!
The Munywana Conservancy has a historic 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 as well as game reserves.
“We are extremely pleased to receive these 40 rhino from African Parks, to supplement the current population of white rhino 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 rhino across our continent, The Makhasa Trust is one of the three primary shareholders of the Munywana Conservancy.”
An Environment Apt for the Southern White Rhino
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 which was facing financial collapse. The main objective of the initiative is to rewild all the rhino to well-managed and secure protected areas, thereby establishing or supplementing strategic populations, ultimately helping to de-risk the future of the species.
“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,” said Ms. Barbara Creecy, the South African 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.”
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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.
This first translocation was carried out by African Parks, &Beyond Phinda, Conservation Solutions and WeWild Africa with the financial support for the move 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,” said Damian Aspinall, chairman of WeWild Africa.
White Rhinos Are Under Pressure
The white rhino as a species is under extreme pressure due to poaching and habitat loss, and hence the need for well protected areas for them to thrive. While southern white rhino 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 rhino are mega-herbivores that are important in shaping savannahs which store approximately 30% of the world’s terrestrial carbon. Where rhino are present, there is an increase in both flora and fauna; and thriving wild rhino populations are indicators of ecosystem renewal.
“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,” said 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.”
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