The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) South Africa’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Program (BRREP) has successfully translocated 20 black rhinos from KwaZulu-Natal to Botswana.

The rhinos were moved in early September in a cross-border conservation operation involving two 36-hour road trips to a remote and secure location where the animals can breed and establish a new population.

The translocation effectively doubles Botswana’s black rhino population. The International Rhino Foundation estimates that about 25 black rhinos remained in the country following years of poaching pressure, particularly in the Okavango Delta region.

The 20 rhinos were captured in KwaZulu-Natal in early June and held in a boma during a quarantine period before being transported to their new home. According to BRREP leader Jeff Cooke, all 20 animals have arrived safely and are settling in well.

The Botswana operation is only the second cross-border translocation undertaken by BRREP. The first took place in 2019, when rhinos were moved to Liwonde National Park in Malawi. Since 2003, the programme has moved groups of up to 20 rhinos to suitable areas to help re-establish populations. It targets areas of about 20 000 hectares or more to provide sufficient space for populations to grow.

Cooke said finding areas large enough with suitable habitat for black rhinos is becoming increasingly difficult, prompting the programme to expand its operations across national borders.

”These newly translocated populations serve as incubators for the broader continental species recovery programme,” he said, adding that they could support further local range expansion in other black rhino range states.

WWF South Africa CEO Dr Morné du Plessis thanked the South African and Botswanan governments, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, funding and donor partners, and the recipient site owners for their role in the operation.

The organisation said the initiative demonstrates the value of collaboration and coordinated conservation efforts in supporting black rhino population recovery.

First published by IOL