2010 was the year of the rhino for Londolozi. 6 members of our team partook in the greulling Challenge4aCause in order to raise money and awareness for the Save the Rhino Trust in Damaraland. Now 6 months later, the cause for the protection of black and white rhino in Southern Africa is only getting stronger. One such conservation initiative is the Black Rhino Range Expansion project in conjunction with the WWF and supported by the Mazda Wildlife Foundation.
The Black Rhino Range Expansion Project aims to increase land available for black rhino conservation, thereby increasing numbers of this critically endangered species. This is done by forming partnerships with landowners with large areas of black rhino habitat. Usually several landowners agree to remove internal fences in order to create large enough areas to hold a significant population of black rhino. The Project also supports security measures on important black rhino source populations.
The critically endangered black rhino continued to expand into its historical range when a founder population of 13 animals was released on to a new home in Limpopo province recently. The animals form the sixth founder population created through the WWF/ Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Black Rhino Range Expansion Project.
The recent surge in rhino poaching underlines the importance of conservation initiatives like the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, WWF project leader Dr Jacques Flamand explained. “There are two sides to good rhino conservation. One is intensive security for existing populations. The other is managing to make sure that your population grows as fast as possible. If you do not manage for high population growth rate, then effectively over time you are losing a lot of animals that could have been born. Rapid population growth rate can mean the difference between survival and extinction for a critically endangered species.”
98 black rhino have been translocated through the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project so far, and at least 26 calves have been born on project sites. One site already has 11 calves, and 10 calves have been born in 2010. “We wanted a minimum of 5% growth per year, and now we’re reaching more than 7% on some of our project sites, which is very good to see,” says Dr Flamand. “Also, indications are that the growth rate is improving on source populations such as Imfolozi, which was a concern before.”
There are currently about 4500 black rhino left in Africa, up from the lowest point of about 2100 in the early 1990s. Black rhino have a reputation for being bad-tempered but in fact are just shy and nervous of strangers. New research suggests they have social structures that were previously not recognised.
The Black Rhino Range Expansion Project aims to increase land available for black rhino conservation, thereby increasing numbers of this critically endangered species. This is done by forming partnerships with landowners with large areas of black rhino habitat. Usually several landowners agree to remove internal fences in order to create large enough areas to hold a significant population of black rhino. The Project also supports security measures on important black rhino source populations.
Rich Laburn is filmmaker, photographer and writer who is based at Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. Spending his time capturing scenes of the wild and communicating the beauty of the African bushveld, he runs the Londolozi Blog as a way to entertain and engage people wishing to visit these wild lands.
