120 Rhinos rewilded to Greater Kruger in historic move
120 southern white Rhinos have been successfully translocated to reserves represented by the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, South Africa. This translocation is the second move under Rhino Rewild, an African Parks initiative to rewild 2,000 southern white rhinos into secure, protected African areas.
One hundred and twenty southern white rhinos have just been translocated to member reserves of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) in Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, South Africa. This boost to the southern white rhino population in the Greater Kruger area is part of African Parks’ Rhino Rewild initiative, an ambitious plan to rewild 2,000 southern white rhinos into secure, protected areas in Africa over the next ten years. This follows the translocation of 40 southern white rhino to Munywana Conservancy in South Africa in May.
GKEPF, established in 2016, is an alliance of nine private reserves, one provincial park, and one national park to service the protection needs of the western and eastern buffers of the Kruger National Park (KNP) and the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier National Park. This translocation comes when poaching rates within GKEPF reserves have significantly declined, indicating the effectiveness of security and anti-poaching measures.
In September 2023, African Parks purchased the world’s largest captive rhino breeding operation from John Hume in a bid to rescue 2,000 southern white rhinos following a failed auction, with one primary objective: to rewild them all to well-managed and secure protected areas, to establish or supplement strategic populations, ultimately helping to de-risk the future of the species.
Through Rhino Rewild, African Parks is dedicated to bolstering healthy southern white rhino populations in South Africa – and recognises the country’s efforts in rhino conservation for the benefit of the African continent.
Source: Africa Geographic