Rwanda: Akagera National Park welcomes 30 white rhinos in largest-ever single translocation!

In the largest single rhino translocation ever undertaken, 30 white rhinos have been introduced to Akagera National Park in Rwanda in November 2021. The rhinos were sourced from the andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The translocation was carried out through a collaboration between the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), African Parks and andBeyond, with funding provided by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The rhinos will be monitored daily in Akagera National Park by a dedicated team and a specialist veterinarian who will be overseeing their acclimation. Each rhino has also been fitted with a transmitter to enable constant monitoring by dedicated tracking teams; a canine anti-poaching unit and helicopter surveillance are also in place to provide further support for their long-term protection.
The translocation of the 30 rhino to Akagera National Park aims to extend the white rhino range and create a secure new breeding stronghold in Rwanda, supporting population growth to ensure the long-term survival of the species in the wild as high-levels of poaching continue to exert unsustainable pressure on current populations. In the recent years, lions (2015) as well as black rhino (2017 and 2019) have already been successfully reintroduced to Akagera National Park.

White rhinos introduced to Akagera in Rwanda
© Gael Vande Weghe & African Parks

Akagera National Park is a protected area in eastern Rwanda covering 1,122 km² along the international border with Tanzania. The National Park is Central Africa’s largest protected wetland and the last remaining refuge for savannah-adapted species in Rwanda.

Botswana dehorns all rhinos in the Okavango Delta!

Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks has undertaken an operation to dehorn all black rhinos and white rhinos in the Okavango Delta, home to the majority of the country's wild rhino population. This operation was necessitated by the rise in rhino poaching over the past few years. Especially the Okavango Delta rhino population has been hard hit by the recent poaching surge with 56 animals reported poached as of 04 May 2020. The dehorning of all rhinos is accompanied by the intensification of surveillance and monitoring of rhinos in Botswana as well as the relocation of highly endangered black rhinos from the Okavango Delta to a secret location.