Munywana Conservancy in South Africa Receives Donation of Southern White Rhino in First Step of Continent-wide Initiative to Rewild 2,000 Rhino

The Munywana Conservancy in South Africa received 40 southern white rhino to bolster their current rhino population. This marks the first translocation under ‘Rhino Rewild’, an African Parks initiative to rewild 2,000 southern white rhino into secure protected areas in Africa.

We have officially launched the rewilding phase of ‘Rhino Rewild’, an ambitious plan to rewild 2,000 southern white rhino into secure protected areas in Africa over the next 10 years.  The very first translocation of this continent-wide undertaking was just completed as of May 11th 2024 with the donation of 40 southern white rhino to the Munywana Conservancy in the Zululand region of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa in support of the conservancy’s successful conservation and community efforts.

The Munywana Conservancy has a historic foundation: in 2007, 9,085 hectares of land were returned to its ancestral owners, the Makhasa and Mnqobokazi communities as part of South Africa’s land restitution process. Both communities requested that the land continue to be kept under conservation. Through this legacy, the Munywana Conservancy, now a 29,866-hectare reserve, is upheld through a collaboration of community and private landowners that include the Makhasa Community Trust, the Mnqobokazi Community Trust, &Beyond Phinda and ZUKA Private Game Reserves.

The Munywana Conservancy offers a secure environment to support the rewilding of southern white rhino, which will bolster their current globally significant rhino population, enhance its genetic diversity, aid in the future translocation of rhino to other locations, and support tourism, which is a key driver of the local economy.

“We are extremely pleased to receive these 40 rhino from African Parks, to supplement the current population of white rhino at Munywana” said Thokozani Mlambo, Chairperson of the Makhasa Trust, one of the three primary shareholders of the Munywana Conservancy. “We see this as recognition of the importance that community-owned lands play for conservation, and we are proud to be collaborating in such a significant partnership to rewild rhino across our continent”.

In September 2023, African Parks purchased the world’s largest captive rhino breeding operation which was facing financial collapse.  These 40 rhino are the first to be rewilded. The main objective of the initiative is to rewild all the rhino to well managed and secure areas, thereby establishing or supplementing strategic populations, with the aim of helping to de-risk the future of the species.

This first translocation was carried out by African Parks, andBeyond Phinda, and Conservation Solutions.

Initial funders of Rhino Rewild include the Rob Walton Foundation, the Pershing Square Foundation, WeWild Africa and The Aspinall Foundation.

To read the full press release, please click here.

To learn about Rhino Rewild, a 10-year plan to rescue and rewild 2,000 southern white rhino, and renew the wild habitats they require, please visit www.rhinorewild.org