Category: News

Ambitious Plan to Rewild 2000 Rhinos in the Next Decade

As a species, the white rhino is under extreme pressure, mostly as a result of poaching for their horns and the illegal wildlife trade. Southern white rhino reached a record low of 30-40 individuals in the 1930s, but thanks to conservation efforts their numbers bounced back to 20,000 animals by 2012. 

This number, however, has declined to below 13,000 today. Now an ambitious project is underway to rewild 2000 captive rhinos over the next decade.

A curios white rhino.
A curios white rhino.

African Parks, a conservation NGO that manages 22 protected areas in partnership with 12 governments across Africa, has recently acquired what was once the world’s largest private captive rhino breeding operation.

The 7,800-hectare property in the North West province of South Africa holds 2000 white rhino at present – that’s up to 15% of the world’s remaining wild population.

Southern white rhino grazing.
Southern white rhino grazing.

The organization’s extensive experience in effectively managing protected areas and carrying out wildlife translocations at scale puts them in a unique position to help avert a conservation crisis, with rhinos being a species in rapid decline.

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In previous projects, African Parks has successfully brought rhino back to Rwanda, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

A large white rhino.
A large white rhino.

“We fully recognize the moral imperative of finding a solution for these animals.” Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks

In one of the largest continent-wide rewilding endeavors ever to occur for any species, the previous operation’s breeding program will be phased out and the remaining 2000 rhinos will be rewilded to well-managed and secure areas across Africa.

Southern White Rhino grazing on the open savannah.
Southern White Rhino grazing on the open savannah of South Africa.

Plans for the animals include establishing or supplementing strategic populations. The project will conclude once all the rhinos are released into the wild, thereby de-risking the future of the species.

“The conservation sector is delighted that African Parks can provide a credible solution for this important population, and a significant lifeline for this Near Threatened species,” said Dr. Mike Knight, Chairman of the IUCN Africa Rhino Specialist Group.

Rhino Disharmony: Uniting Creativity for Kruger Rhino Conservation

The conservation of Africa’s endangered rhinos, specifically those found in South Africa’s Greater Kruger region, is being boosted through Rhino Disharmony’s latest conservation campaign, Saviours’ Army.

The campaign, launched in Cape Town in February, calls on tourists and travel businesses alike to “rise up against rhino poaching”. The Western Cape’s Premier Alan Winde and Grammy-winning music composer Harold Faltermeyer joined to support the cause.

Kruger Rhino Conservation
Artists and activists rally together in the latest Rhino Disharmony campaign for rhino conservation in the Greater Kruger region. Source: Rhino Disharmony

Reshaping Perceptions Through Educational Art

The event, a fusion of art, music, fashion, and conservation, showcased the budding talent of children enrolled in the educational arts programme Lalela through intricately painted rhino scarves. The youth-driven educational community project involves “thousands of children from low-income communities in Sub-Saharan Africa,” according to Rhino Disharmony’s conservation partner, Newmark Motswari.

The hospitality brand is well-known for its wildlife conservation experiences across southern Africa, including the Motswari Private Game Reserve, close to Kruger National Park. “Art has the power to overcome language barriers, supersede cultural boundaries, and communicate in a way words can only dream of. We aim to reshape perceptions about rhino horn use. We collaborate with creatives and companies to speak on behalf of our rhinos and protect them,” said Rhino Disharmony Founder Marion Geiger-Orengo.

Having witnessed the brutal killing of an innocent rhino on their doorstep in the Motswari Private Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger in 2014, Geiger-Orengo and co-founder Fabrice Orengo de Lamazière created Rhino Disharmony as a means to protect rhinos from the onslaught of poachers.

Annual Rise in Rhino Killings

The latest population numbers show that there were 561 rhinos killed in Africa during 2022, a rise from 501 in 2021 and 503 in 2020, according to the international conservation body African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG). The year-on-year increase is a concern despite a marked decline from the peak of the crisis in 2015 when 1,349 African rhinos were poached.

The Kruger Park rhino population has declined by 77%, from 8 929 in 2014 to only 2 061 in 2022. “The situation is particularly serious when one considers that South Africa, which is home to 80% of the world’s rhinos, is one of the last strongholds of these magnificent animals,” said AfRSG.

Raising Rhino Conservation Awareness

The Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF), also a Rhino Disharmony partner, believes the survival of the rhino “…is a visual reminder that the actions and influence of humanity today have a lasting impact on the evolution or extinction of a species for future generations.”

Rhino Disharmony has, in turn, looked to use “creative mediums” and “influential ambassadors” like mixed media artist Barend De Wet, international pianist Tian Jiang, cartoonist Zapiro, and Freshly Ground lead singer Zolani to help educate communities in South Africa and abroad about the poaching crisis. The efforts of the world’s first all-female anti-poaching unit, the Black Mambas, and the Umbabat Counter-Poaching Unit, showcased in a Saviours’ Army Campaign video, also premiered at the launch.

WATCH: Rhino Disharmony Saviours’ Army

“The outcome was a powerful synergy for social impact through a shared passion for creativity, community, and conservation, culminating in the Saviours’ Army,” said Rhino Disharmony.

Julian Brookstein, Professional Guide / Safari Camp Manager at Camp Hwange

Name – Julian Brookstein

Date of Birth – 09 August 1979

Qualification – Zimbabwean Professional Guide

Place of Birth – Harare, Zimbabwe

Julian Brookstein, Professional Guide / Safari Camp Manager at Camp Hwange

Julian was born and raised in Zimbabwe and is a third generation Zimbabwean. His interest in the outdoors and wildlife began at an early age when he used to attend junior guiding camps in the school holidays. He has grown up keeping everything from scorpions to rats as pets. It was at age eleven that Julian told his parents he would be a guide. After completing his schooling and attaining a diploma in Agriculture in Zimbabwe, Julian went to South Africa to further his studies and attained a diploma in guiding and lodge management. After completing the diploma he returned to Zimbabwe.

Julian Brookstein, Professional Guide / Safari Camp Manager at Camp Hwange

He started his career as a canoe guide on the Zambezi River guiding multi-day trips in the Zambezi National park, also working as a whitewater Rafting guide on the rapids below the Victoria Falls. Due to the downturn in tourism, Julian went to the UK in 2002 and began working on a cruise ship. He worked at sea in the galley of the liner and climbed to the position of Chef De Partie, third in command to the head chef.

Julian Brookstein, Professional Guide / Safari Camp Manager at Camp Hwange

During this time he travelled extensively throughout Europe. With a burning desire to come home and get back into the bush, he returned to Zimbabwe and began working for Wilderness Safaris. He managed and guided in their camps in Mana Pools and Hwange National Park. At the beginning of 2011, Julian joined Camp Hwange as part of the new management team.

Julian Brookstein, Professional Guide / Safari Camp Manager at Camp Hwange

Julian holds a Zimbabwean Professional Guides license. As a Zimbabwean professional guide, he is well versed in all aspects of the African bush and has gone through rigorous training and exams, both practical and theory. It is this and a passion for the bush that make guests as enthusiastic as he is.

Source from Safari Talk.

Head Guide of the Month: Chantelle Venter of Singita Kruger

Boasting over 20 years of safari guiding experience, Discover Africa had the priviledge of chatting to Singita‘s acting head guide, Chantelle Venter, who is currently plying her trade in the wildlife-rich Kruger National Park.

When is the best time to visit the Kruger National Park?

The Kruger National Park is an excellent all-year round safari destination, however, travelling in certain periods of the year does offer certain perks and opportunities. The best game viewing can be done during the winter months of May to September. This is also known as the dry season, as Kruger will receive very little rain during this time.

What makes the game viewing superb is the lack of vegetation, making the wildlife much easier to spot. Also, the wildlife within the Kruger National Park will congregate around water holes, making them easier to find. Summer is the wet season for visitors travelling to the Kruger National Park. The park will receive lots of rain, and one can witness the birth of newborn wildlife, while predators such as lion, leopard and cheetah look to take advantage of the vulnerable young animals.

 

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What wildlife can I see at the Kruger National Park?

The Kruger National Park is home to all the Big Five species. All of Africa’s big cats can be found here, and there are plenty of buffalo, elephant and buck. Giraffe meander along gracefully and you might even be lucky enough to spot a pack of African wild dogs. Other rare species include the pangolin, black and white rhino, golden mole and riverine rabbit. Look out for the African black-footed wild cat; a small but highly effective nocturnal predator. Birdwatching is also excellent here, in fact the Kruger is home to 500 bird species; more than half of the birds recorded in South Africa. Head Guide of the Month: Chantelle Venter of Singita Kruger Chinspot Batis by Warwick Tarboton from his book Guide to Birds of the Kruger National Park

Keep up-to-date with the happenings in Kruger by following these handy Facebook accounts:

Include a trip to Kruger National Park in a thrilling safari in South Africa.

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