400 Black Rhinos Thriving Thanks to Landmark Conservation Project

Photo Credit: WWF South Africa - Supplied

WWF South Africa’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Project has reached a hopeful milestone: over 400 black rhinos now live across its 17 protected sites, thanks to 22 years of conservation partnerships and land restoration.

South Africa (29 July 2025) – From humble beginnings to a national success story, WWF South Africa’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Project (BRREP) has just marked a milestone that’s cause for celebration: more than 400 black rhinos are now thriving across its partner sites.

What began in 2003 as a modest three-year initiative, with the ambitious hope of establishing just one or two populations, has blossomed into one of the country’s most impactful conservation efforts. Today, 17 black rhino populations span more than 360,000 hectares of land, with 280 translocated rhinos and their offspring contributing to the count. Notably, eight of these sites are wholly or partly community-owned, demonstrating that shared stewardship can yield significant results.

With fewer than 6,500 black rhinos left in the world, BRREP’s efforts now represent about 16% of South Africa’s population, making this metapopulation a vital part of the species’ future.

“Four hundred black rhinos across our project sites is an exciting milestone,” said Jeff Cooke, Rhino Conservation Manager at WWF South Africa. “It shows the long-term success of BRREP—and that moving rhinos to safe, suitable new homes really works. It’s not just about translocations; it’s about building healthy, genetically diverse populations.”

Black rhinos once roamed Africa in vast numbers, over 100,000 in the 1960s, but by the mid-1990s, relentless poaching and habitat loss saw their numbers crash to just 2,500. Through targeted conservation work like BRREP, numbers have slowly climbed back above 6,400.

Photo Credit: WWF South Africa – Supplied

Key to this recovery has been land. BRREP works with private landowners, communities, and government conservation partners like Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency to find large blocks of suitable habitat. Often, this involves encouraging neighbours to remove fences and create one larger, uninterrupted conservation area, not only for rhinos but for other wide-ranging species like wild dogs, cheetahs, and vultures.

The initiative’s strength lies in its combination of bold translocations and long-term care. Managing rhinos for genetic diversity, ensuring their safety, and supporting their growth is a decades-long commitment, and one that BRREP has honoured for over 22 years.

A tranquillised black rhino in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa, is airlifted to an awaiting land vehicle as part of WWF’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, which creates new black rhino populations in order to increase the growth rate of the critically endangered species. The helicopter trip lasts less than 10 minutes and enables a darted rhino to be removed safely from difficult and dangerous terrain. The sleeping animal suffers no ill effects.

South Africa remains a critical stronghold for the black rhino, but space and safety are ongoing challenges. BRREP’s expanding network of protected habitats continues to offer a hopeful path forward for one of the world’s most endangered species.

As we celebrate this milestone, it’s clear: when people come together for conservation, hope takes root—and horned giants get a second chance.