Nairobi, Oct 18 – Black rhinos are holding their own in Kenya with the number of calves born this year exceeding the number of animals lost to poachers in the three wildlife conservancies (Ol Pejeta, Borana and Sera) that are supported by Fauna & Flora International (FFI), the conservation organisation reported.
Ol Pejeta Conservancy has reported the births of six calves this year, further boosting the largest black rhino population in East Africa. Borana Conservancy also recently saw its seventh birth, while Sera Wildlife Conservancy – which has the first community-owned rhino sanctuary in Kenya where black rhinos were reintroduced in 2015 – reported its first birth, Olivia Bailey, FFI’s Communications Assistant, wrote in press release.
Continued growth of rhino populations in private and community conservancies is an important part of Kenya’s national black rhino conservation strategy for this Critically Endangered species. A key component of future conservation efforts and protection of rhinos at these sanctuaries is the support from local communities, garnered through engagement, awareness and employment programmes in each area.
Nevertheless, rhinos are still under extreme threat from poachers due to high demand for their horn which is used in traditional Asian medicines and is increasingly used to demonstrate social status.
As rhinos become rarer, the value of their horn only increases, encouraging international criminal syndicates to engage in the illegal wildlife trade. The threat of extinction is very real; one subspecies – the western black rhino – was officially declared extinct in 2010, with the primary cause identified as poaching, and the northern white rhino is on the brink.