WWF to Translocate 20 Black Rhinoceros to Increase Breeding

WWF charity officials are pleased to announce the translocation of an extra 20 black rhinoceros to new habitats in 2011. The Black Rhino Range Expansion Project’s aim is to increase the number of black rhinoceros worldwide by moving them to newly established areas to increase breeding rates. The project, which has been in place since 2003, has already translocated 98 of the critically endangered species to 6 different sites, with at least 26 calves resulting from the moves.

WWF’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Project Leader, Dr. Jacques Flamand, said –

There are two sides to good rhino conservation. One is intensive security for existing populations. The other is managing to make sure that your population grows as fast as possible. If you do not manage for high population growth rate, then effectively over time you are losing a lot of animals that could have been born. Rapid population growth rate can mean the difference between survival and extinction for a critically endangered species.

The Black Rhino Range  Project has seen their number more than double from the reported 2,100 in the early nineties, with an estimated 4,700 black rhinos now residing in Africa. Yet still rhinos are being poached for their horns at an alarming rate, with at least 250 killed last year alone. If you would like to help the Black Rhino’s plight, why not click on the link below and help provide funds for their well being, by adopting a rhino with the WWF.