Formerly owned by rhino breeder John Hume, the animals are expected to significantly increase the biodiversity of their new habitat. Photo: Michael Dexter
120 captive-bred southern white rhinos have been safely transported to a private reserve along the western border of Kruger National Park to begin a new life in the wild.
African Parks announced on Friday that it has donated 120 of the 2,000 rhinos once kept by controversial rhino breeder John Hume to Greater Kruger Conservation Foundation (GKEPF) member reserves in Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces as rhinos are reintroduced to the area for the first time in nearly 50 years.
“This is a special moment to be able to relocate these rhinos into their wild habitat where they can thrive,” said Sharon Osman, chief executive of GKEPF. “What's even more special is that some of these rhinos come from this land, either directly or through their descendants.”
African Parks acquired Hume's Platinum Rhino Farm last September after a failed auction. It is the world's largest rhino breeding facility. Through its “Rhino Rewilding” initiative, the farm aims to rescue and re-wild rhinos that once roamed Hume's Northwest ranch into safe sanctuaries in Africa over the next decade, “ultimately contributing to reducing future risks to this species,” the park said.
Agreement, cooperation
The GKEPF is a federation of nine privately owned reserves, one state park and one national park, whose purpose is to serve the conservation needs of the western and eastern buffer zones of Kruger National Park and the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier National Park.
The rhinos will not be released into Kruger National Park itself, but into a private game reserve along its western border, but Osman said the project would not have been possible without the agreement, cooperation and expert input of officials from Kruger National Park and South African National Parks.
African Parks said the strategic placement of rhinos in privately owned reserves adjacent to Kruger National Park “will strengthen the rhino metapopulation and lay the foundation for future collaboration as Kruger National Park continues its fight against poaching.”
Osman described the relocation as “the culmination of a collaborative landscape conservation effort”, which he said includes GKEPF member reserves Timbavati, Balule, Klaserie, Umbavat, Thornybush, Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, Malamala and Sabi Game Reserve, as well as its open system partners Kruger National Park and Manyeret.
“The release itself is testament to the knowledge, partnerships and insight gained from long-term anti-poaching work in the Greater Kruger region,” she added.
“The benefits clearly outweigh the risks, and this represents a great opportunity to reward the efforts of all those who have worked so hard to protect rhino populations under extremely challenging circumstances over the last 10 to 15 years.”
'Sleepless Night'
Relocating 120 rhinos was a massive undertaking in every sense of the word, requiring “many, many sleepless nights” and a lot of money, Osman said.
The reintroduction will boost Greater Kruger's existing rhino population and allow them to fulfil their roles in the natural environment, which was the idea all along, African Parks chief executive Peter Fearnhead said.
“Despite significant pressures, GKEPF members have provided a vital buffer zone in Kruger and played a key role in conserving the Greater Kruger landscape. We support the commendable progress being made in protecting rhino populations in their native habitat,” Mr Fearnhead said.
Osman agreed that the rhino rewilding program offers an opportunity to increase the growth rate of the existing population: “Greater Kruger is an ideal habitat for large numbers of white rhinos. The initial translocation of 120 rhinos represents a major opportunity to increase white rhino populations in areas that previously contained high densities of white rhinos.”
Private conservation areas in Greater Kruger have “demonstrated their capacity to conserve rhinos in the region through resilience, partnerships, knowledge, technology and collaboration.”
The area is also an ideal habitat for the southern white rhino as the fertile, water-rich grasslands selected for the release site are ideal to optimally ensure rhino health and population growth, she added.
“Through a decade of collaborative efforts to combat rhino poaching, conservancies and stakeholders have developed and shared a wealth of expertise, which has significantly strengthened our capacity to proactively and effectively address the threat of poaching and protect the species.”
Poaching losses stabilise
Dehorning the rhinos reduces the risk of poaching, according to Markus Hofmeyer, a wildlife veterinarian and president of the Rhino Recovery Foundation. “We've reached a stage where this risk can be fully calculated,” he said.
Osman said rhino declines from poaching in Greater Kruger have stabilised, with rhino numbers in private reserves increasing accordingly. Years of dealing with poaching have given people in the region the resilience, partnerships, knowledge, skills and means to protect rhinos in the most effective way possible.
Greater Kruger was chosen as the initial release site primarily because of the protected area's safety track record and the demonstrated capacity, resources and capability to protect rhinos.
“Back-up security and APU [anti-poaching units] “They certainly understand their responsibility to protect these rhinos, and all the rhinos in the reserve, and will continue their exemplary efforts to protect all rhinos in the landscape,” Osman said.
The animals will be fitted with tracking devices to monitor their movements as they adapt to their new environment, and extensive geofencing has also been installed to alert reserve managers and inform them of any necessary safety measures.
The rhinos will be notched for easier individual identification. All rhinos in the system are continuously monitored on the ground by patrolling rangers through arrangements with field guides, camera traps and aerial surveillance, she added.
This data will be collected by ecologists from GKEPF and member reserves and these measures will be implemented for the additional rhinos. This monitoring has been agreed by GKEPF and African Parks and is a requirement of the rewilding programme.
Caution species
Introducing these rhinos to environments where they can “better cope with threats” would offset previous rhino declines and increase rhino genetic diversity in the area, Osman said.
Ecologically, rhinos can be seen as vigilance animals, usually the first species to be poached from their natural habitat, acting as a warning sign of further degradation of the area.
“But rhinos are often the last species to be reintroduced into protected areas, a sign of conservation success and renewed hope. Rhinos are 'ecosystem engineers' because of their size, and increasing rhino populations provide an opportunity to restore the natural role of these large herbivores in the ecosystem.”
“For example, where rhinos graze, they leave behind short grasses that are suitable for small antelope, which in turn become prey for predators. Rhino dung and shell middens disperse seeds and provide nutrients that help many other species thrive.”
“People often travel from far and wide to see the rhinos, and this is the largest free-roaming rhino population in the world. By increasing this herd, we are bringing a level of sustainability to the tourism potential of the region.”
Regarding the ecological value of rhinos in the wild, Donovan Joste, project manager at Rhino Rewild, said: “A question we get asked a lot is what is the monetary value of these animals? We have to look at the ecological value of these animals, not just the monetary value.”
“The Northwest rhino population is of such size that [John Hume’s captive breeding operation] “Its ecological contribution to biodiversity, landscaping, tourism and community engagement will enable local communities and protected areas to once again harness the Big Five and rhinos as the abundant species they should be.”
This is “the most exciting part of what we're doing,” Jooste said.
“Five or six years from now, the populations that we have increased in areas suitable for rhinos, or new populations that we have established in areas that have the capacity to sustain rhinos, will have made a major contribution to biodiversity. In that sense, we have made a major contribution to tourism, to local communities and their property rights,” he added.
The safety measures being put into protecting rhinos will also benefit other species: “We want to know over the next decade that not only are these rhinos safe, but that they are fulfilling their ecological role in an open system and contributing to something bigger than just being there.”