Second Move under Rhino Rewild Complete with 120 Rhino Translocated to Member Reserves of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation

120 Southern white rhino have been successfully translocated to member reserves of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, South Africa. This translocation is the second move to happen under Rhino Rewild, an African Parks initiative to rewild 2,000 southern white rhino into secure protected areas in Africa.

As of June 7th, 2024, 120 Southern white rhino have been successfully translocated to member reserves of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) in Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, South Africa. This translocation is the second move to occur under ‘Rhino Rewild’, an ambitious plan to rewild 2,000 southern white rhino into secure protected areas in Africa over the next 10 years.  

GKEPF was established in 2016 in direct response to the unprecedented rise in rhino poaching in the Greater Kruger. The area is home to the world’s largest wild rhino population and comprises more than 2.5 million hectares of unfenced wilderness. GKEPF represents an innovative private-public partnership, with its members representing private, provincial and national reserves. Moving 120 rhino here to be rewilded, comes at a time when poaching rates within GKEPF reserves have significantly declined, indicating the effectiveness of their security and anti-poaching measures. 

These 120 rhino are coming from the world’s largest captive rhino breeding operation, which was purchased by African Parks in September 2023 in a bid to rescue 2,000 southern white rhino from a failed business venture.  African Parks purchase the farm, the equipment, and all the rhino, but with one main objective: to rewild them all to well-managed and secure protected areas to help derisk the species, and allow these animals to contribute to wild, functioning ecosystems. 

Through Rhino Rewild, African Parks is dedicated to bolstering healthy southern white rhino populations in South Africa – and recognises the country's efforts in rhino conservation for the benefit of the African continent. “Moving 120 rhino under the Rhino Rewild initiative to GKEPF will augment the existing rhino population in the Greater Kruger and ensure that these rhino are fulfilling their role in their natural environment, which has been our vision from the start,” says Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks. “Despite significant pressures, GKEPF members have played a critical role in the conservation of the Greater Kruger landscape providing an important buffer to the Kruger and we support their commendable progress in protecting rhino populations in their native range.”

The rhino will not be released into the KNP itself, but into private game reserves along its western boundary, a consensus reached through collaboration, and expert inputs from KNP and South African National Parks (SANParks) counterparts. This strategic placement to private reserves bordering the KNP strengthens the rhino metapopulation and lays the groundwork for potential future collaboration as the Kruger continues its fight against poaching.

The safety of these translocated rhino is at the forefront for everyone involved in the process. Through a decade-long collaborative effort to combat rhino poaching, reserves and stakeholders have developed a wealth of expertise, significantly bolstering their ability to proactively and effectively address poaching threats and safeguard the species.

 “The rhino will come in dehorned, which is a very effective way to decrease the poaching risk in this landscape. We’re at a point where this risk is well calculated,” says Markus Hofmeyr, wildlife vet and Director of the Rhino Recovery Fund. “This will be the first re-introduction of rhino into this landscape in about 50 years.”

African parks donated the animals to the reserve, and GKEPF donors contributed to the translocation costs as well as the subsequent ongoing monitoring of the rhino, a critical element for the project's long-term success.

To read the press release, click here

To learn more about Rhino Rewild, please visit: www.rhinorewild.org