25 Aug
2006 - Nairobi, Kenya – Thanks to ongoing conservation
efforts by WWF and the Kenya Wildlife Service,
black rhino numbers are on the rise in Kenya after
years of decline from poaching and habitat loss.
According to officials, the
country's black rhino population stood at 539
animals at the end of 2005, compared to 428 animals
in 2003.
"This shows a healthy increase
that surpassed our targets," said Dr Taye
Teferi, Conservation Programme Director with WWF's
Eastern Africa Regional Programme Office, based
in Nairobi. "Considering the intense poaching
pressure and the demand for rhino horn, this is
no mean achievement."
The population growth is attributed
to improved rhino protection, particularly through
managing existing populations and ensuring that
their habitats are suitable for foraging and reproducing.
Despite the good news, WWF still
warns that there is no room for complacency. Black
rhinos in Kenya and other parts of Africa are
still under threat, especially from poachers who
see the animal’s horn as a promising source of
wealth. Rhino horn is in high demand in parts
of Asia where it is often crushed into a powder
and used for traditional medicine. In the Middle
East, rhino horn is still fashioned into curved
handles for ceremonial daggers.
WWF, through its black rhino
project, is working with the Kenya Wildlife Service
to increase Kenya's black rhino population to
1,000 by 2020 through the expansion of existing
rhino sanctuaries and through the establishment
of new protected areas that can accommodate future
population growth.
“With increased improvement
in wildlife management and monitoring, the black
rhino population can continue to show a healthy
growth rate for many years to come,” added Dr
Teferi.
END NOTES:
• Black rhinos were once found
throughout sub-Saharan Africa with the exception
of the Congo Basin. They are now limited to a
patchy distribution from Cameroon in the west,
to Kenya in the east and south to South Africa.
Present in habitats ranging from desert in the
southwest to montane forests in Kenya, the black
rhino is found mainly in grassland-forest transition
zones.
• In Kenya, numbers of the eastern
sub-species of black rhino (Diceros bicornis michaeli)
dropped from an estimated 20,000 in 1970 to less
than 500 animals in the early 1980s. This drastic
decline was due to poaching which took place unabatedly
inside and outside national parks and reserves.
• The international commercial
trade of black rhinos and their parts, including
their horns, has been banned under the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) since 1977.
• Kenya's Conservation and Management
Strategy for the Black Rhino (2001–2005) was developed
at a workshop in 2000 with financial assistance
from WWF. Workshop participants included Kenya
Wildlife Service staff, private landowners, donors
and technical experts.
Anne Mugo, Rhino Project Officer
Kimunya Mugo, Communications Manager
