Kenya opens world’s largest rhino sanctuary
Kenya has opened the world’s largest rhino sanctuary in Tsavo West National Park, expanding protected habitat to 3,200 square kilometres. Officially inaugurated on 9 December 2025 by President William Ruto, the sanctuary consolidates 150 black rhinos from the former 92 square kilometre Ngulia Sanctuary and 50 from Tsavo West’s Intensive Protection Zone – creating a 200-strong founder population aimed at securing the critically endangered Eastern black rhino and strengthening Tsavo’s conservation and tourism appeal.
Kenya holds about 2,000 rhinos, including more than 1,000 black rhinos – approximately 78% of the global Eastern black rhino population. The landscape-scale expansion adds space and security, with LoRaWAN and VHF tracking, AI-supported surveillance and upgraded ranger infrastructure under the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion programme. Targets include lifting annual black rhino growth from 5% to 8% and reaching 1,450 by 2030 and 2,000 by 2037, with authorities projecting significant job creation and over US$45 million in tourism and conservancy revenue by 2030.
Source: Kenya Wildlife Service
