Conservation efforts see black rhinos bounce back

Against a background of doom and gloom about rhino poaching and a supposed looming extinction of the species comes news that the population of black rhinos has more than doubled since the 1990s.

The World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Black Rhino Range Expansion Project – run in partnership with Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency and various other private and community landowners – has created 13 black rhino populations on more than 300,000 hectares of land.

This has made a significant contribution to the increase in black rhino populations from 2,500 in the 1990s to more than 5,600 today.

Black rhinos – along with their larger, white counterparts – were almost wiped out in the first half of the 20th century by hunting, with the WWF reporting a 98% drop in numbers between 1960 and 1995. Then came the poaching plague of the past few years.

It helps, of course, that black rhinos, being shy and expert at self-isolation – as well has having smaller horns that its white cousin – is a more difficult target for poachers.

This is still encouraging news and brings hope that we can avert the dreadful looming tide of extinction.

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