There are two species of African rhino, the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) and the white rhino (Ceratotherium simum). A huge rise in poaching for rhino horn and the steady increase of habitat loss over the last 50 years has decimated rhino populations in Africa with approximately 23,290 rhinos across these two species left in the wild today.
The Black Rhino
There are three surviving sub-species of black rhino: the Eastern black rhino, the Southern Central black rhino and the Southwestern black rhino. A fourth sub species, the Western black rhino was declared extinct in 2011. Black rhino are typically found in Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Malawi.
Smaller than the white rhino the black rhino is a browser, living mainly in thick bush or wherever there is a good supply of shrubs and plants to eat. Their hooked lip helps them to pull and hold leaves and branches which is very useful in the African bush. They have two horns, the foremost more prominent than the other. Far more shy, secretive, and aggressive than the white rhino, the black rhino can be more difficult to track and spot. They tend to wander smaller home ranges as long as there are woody plants and waterholes nearby.
Black Rhino Population Status
The black rhino is listed as critically endangered on the International Union of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Like the white rhino, the black rhino once roamed most of sub-Saharan Africa. It is thought that as recently as 1970 there were as many as 65,000 black rhinos in the wild. Large scale poaching, alongside habitat loss reduced these numbers to fewer than 2,500 by the mid-1990s.
In September 2023, the African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups of the IUCN estimated that there were 6,487 black rhinos in the wild. This increase of approximately 28% over the last decade was very much down to the intense protection and management of black rhino populations across state parks and privately run conservancies.
Threats to Black Rhino
Whilst poaching remains the main reason rhino populations are decreasing, the shrinking of their habitat is also a major and growing concern. Rhino need a large area in which to roam and find food and as more and more land is cleared for agricultural use, the available space for rhino to thrive in is shrinking. Rhino habitats are becoming fragmented with human settlements sandwiched between wild areas, with no ‘safe’ corridors for rhino and other wildlife to travel through.
Black rhinos are territorial, so without enough space they can become stressed and aggressive (the same happens when populations become too dense). As a result, they are prone to slow population growth when forced into communities of high density over a small area, leading to a loss of genetic diversity. When rhinos are separated into smaller subpopulations, they also run the risk of inbreeding and increased susceptibility to disease; plus, they are more accessible to poachers.
Helping the Black Rhino Recover
Maintaining viable rhino populations that have the freedom to roam in their natural habitat, when the pressures on land and natural resources are increasing at such a rapid rate, is a constant challenge. For over a decade, Helping Rhinos has been working with projects on the ground in Kenya and South Africa to not only fund and support anti-poaching activity, but to help create and sustain healthy ecosystems and biodiversity for rhinos, especially the black rhino.
Integral to the recent increase in black rhino numbers over the past decade has been the work done in Kenya and South Africa to both protect and grow the areas where black rhino live. This has been done with stringent anti-poaching measures, the restoration of degraded habitats and the increase of areas for rhinos to roam in, as well as supporting and empowering local communities. This three pronged approach of protect, conserve and inspire is the main goal of Helping Rhinos’ initiative, Rhino Strongholds and is essential for the future of the black rhino and other wildlife in these fragile ecosystems.
Some Recent Successes
Kenya
For the past three decades, Kenya has been working to conserve the country’s eastern black rhino population achieving incredible results, growing from just 240 in 1984 to 966 at the beginning of 2024. This an incredible milestone towards Kenya’s goal of a population of 2,000 eastern black rhinos. Reaching such a goal would mean stability for the sub species.
Helping Rhinos’ partner, Ol Pejeta Conservancy is one such area reaping the success of its black rhino protection and management. It currently has the largest population of eastern black rhino in Africa, with an increase from just 20 individuals in 1992, to 171 today. This was achieved by dedicated rangers, regular monitoring of individual rhinos, as well as K9 anti-poaching patrols and working with local communities. This innovative approach to anti-poaching has led to no poaching on the conservancy for six years. Helping Rhinos are incredibly proud to have been part of this achievement through its year on year fundraising efforts.
However, there is a limit to the number of individuals a habitat can successfully sustain in terms of both land capacity (food and water) and genetically diverse breeding. Once this carrying capacity is breached, it becomes more difficult to grow the population successfully. Ol Pejeta reached its carrying capacity of 120 eastern black rhinos in 2018, making it imperative that they look for ways to increase this carrying capacity in order to continue to grow their black rhino population.
Ol Pejeta was not alone, with many of the protected black rhino habitats in Kenya nearing or reaching carrying capacity, it became a high priority to create new sanctuaries offering the right habitats for breeding and with effective security and strong support from local communities.
In January 2024, the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) translocated 21 eastern black rhinos to Loisaba, a conservancy in the highlands of Laikipia County. This mix of male and female rhinos were translocated from Ol Pejeta, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Nairobi National Park. Loisaba, a Kenyan conservancy, has allocated around half of its 58,000 hectares for the translocated rhinos giving them ample space to roam and breed.
Helping Rhinos will continue to support this ambitious project to ensure that populations of eastern black rhino continue to grow and flourish in the Kenyan bush.
South Africa
South Africa is home to approximately 2,000 black rhinos. However, the threat of poaching continues to put pressure on national parks and privately run reserves to maintain rhino populations.
Kariega Game Reserve is a family-owned and operated Big 5 reserve of pristine African wilderness located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is also home to the world-famous poaching survivor Thandi and her ever-growing family.
Kariega’s conservation arm, the Kariega Foundation working with Helping Rhinos and Freedom to Roam Adventures embarked on an ambitious habitat expansion project to expand the habit and create more land for animals, including rhino, to roam freely. This involved acquiring and incorporating critically important farmlands along the Bushman’s River into the Kariega Game Reserve protected area, ensuring the protection and conservation of 25km of pristine river valley. At the end of 2022, the first phase of this important habitat expansion project was completed, growing the footprint of the protected area to 11,500 hectares.
This project forms an integral part of Helping Rhinos’ vision to create Rhino Strongholds in key locations including South Africa’s Eastern Cape. The increased habitat has great conservation benefits for keystone herbivores like elephant and rhino and apex predators such as cheetah and lion.
Importantly, the expanded habitat has enabled the Kariega Game Reserve to become fully appointed custodians of South African government black rhino, made possible through a partnership with WWF South Africa and their Black Rhino Range Expansion Project (BRREP), with Kariega receiving their first translocated black rhinos in December 2023.
How you can help
Protection is a key element of successful conservation, and creating secure landscapes where wildlife can thrive and demonstrate natural behaviours is a primary focus of Helping Rhinos’ Rhino Strongholds initiative.
As we have seen the future conservation of the black rhino depends upon the creation of expanded habitats for these incredible animals - to relieve pressure on existing reserves and establish new populations, but we can only continue this vital work with your support, please continue to support us and enable us to keep helping rhinos.
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