Tanzania received 18 white rhinos from South Africa on Tuesday, marking a crucial step in revitalizing its wildlife and boosting tourism.
The initiative is part of a broader project to introduce 36 white rhinos to the East African nation, where they have been absent for decades.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania once hosted the species, but rampant poaching in the 1970s led to their disappearance.
“Remains of the endangered species have been found in the area, but they vanished due to poaching,” said Emmanuel Kaaya, a local rhino specialist.
Tanzania’s black rhino population has plummeted from an estimated 10,000 in the 1970s to just 212 in 2021, according to the International Rhino Foundation.
South Africa remains home to most of the world’s white rhinos, with an estimated 13,991 individuals recorded in 2023, the foundation reported.
Despite their name, both black and white rhinos share a similar grey hue, though white rhinos are larger, with broader mouths and longer front horns.
A poaching crisis has devastated South Africa’s rhino population, with over 10,000 killed since 2007, pushing conservationists to seek alternative solutions.
“Rampant poaching has put them at great risk, which is why we have relocated them to countries like Botswana, Rwanda, and now Tanzania,” said Inkosi Gumede Zwelinzima, a South African community leader.
He added that despite these threats, conservation efforts have successfully increased the white rhino population through careful management and relocation strategies.
Local officials confirmed that the newly arrived rhinos will first acclimate in an enclosure before being released into Ngorongoro Crater’s vast wilderness.Tanzania receives white rhinos in major anti-poaching effort
