October 31, 2006
The WWF reports that twelve black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) have been released into a reserve located in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The release marks a 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. The exploitation of the rhinos resulted in the population crashing to only 2,500 individuals. In Asia, rhino horns were valued for their use in traditional medicine and were used in the treatment of a wide range of ailments from fevers and poisoning to epilepsi and malaria. In Northern Yemen, the horns were carved into the handles on jambiyyas, daggers worn traditionally by men as a display of their status.
After intense conservation action, the rhino population has experienced an increase to about 3,600 individuals.
