The WWF reports that twelve black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) have been released into a reserve located in Northern KwaZulu-Natal. The release marks an modest but encouraging step in the protection and recovery of this critically endangered species. The recently released rhinos form a third wild 'founder' population as part of a wider rhinocerous conservation effort known as the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project. The project is a joint effort by the WWF and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

The release site for the rhinos was the Pongola Game Reserve, a 13,000 hectare plot of land that comprises a half dozen adjacent properties and expands upon the 80,000 hectares already set aside in KwaZulu-Natal for the protection of the black rhino population.

The rhino's decline is attributed to decades of poaching which was most severe during the 1970s and 1980s.

Find out more: Twelve Black Rhinos Released in South African Game Reserve

Photo © John and Karen Hollingsworth, USFWS.