Black Rhino Monitoring

Rhino conservation volunteers have watched in dismay as the Black Rhino has become a Critically Endangered species, with fewer than 4 500 individuals remaining in Africa. The total South African population is less than 1 500 individuals. Their numbers have severely declined as a direct result of the Chinese Medicine and Yemen dagger handle industries which depend on various rhino body parts. Despite an intention to curb the hunting of these animals through legal mechanisms such as CITES listings, the incidence of poaching remains a threat to this population. As a result, the expansion and growth of the population has been deemed a clear conservation priority for the governing conservation authorities. We at Wildlife ACT are actively involved in the monitoring and evaluation of the successes or failures of attempted reintroductions of the Black Rhino, and provide valuable feedback, as rhino volunteers to these conservation authorities in this regard.