According to Cooke, in the past two decades 250 black rhinos have been moved to new project sites where they have the space to breed and thrive.
He said more than 200 calves have been born at these sites and there are now 16 new black rhino populations in Southern Africa.
The project has also seen the range of black rhinos in KwaZulu-Natal increase by more than 50%, he said.
“The province has a proud record of having played a critical role in rhino conservation when rhino numbers had dwindled to a few hundred animals. This is why we are committing resources towards supporting the authorities in their efforts to turn the tide on the illegal killing of rhinos, particularly in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park,” said Cooke.
He said there was a growing recognition of the importance of professionalising rangers working on the front line of conservation efforts by improving morale and building trust within law enforcement teams.
He said this was one tangible area where WWFSA was hoping it could make a difference.
“It is also imperative we continue to focus on growing rhino numbers and increasing range as quickly as possible, through efforts such as the black rhino range expansion project, in the hope of building resilience in the populations to guard against the poaching onslaught,” he said.
In September last year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) indicated rhino numbers across Africa had increased by 5.2% between 2021 and 2022.
Black rhino numbers rose by 4.2% from 2021 to 6,487 animals.
White rhino numbers increased to 16,803 (an increase of 5.6%) for the first time since 2012.
Cooke said: “While these updated IUCN populations figures provide hope, the gains remain tenuous as long as the poaching crisis continues.”
TimesLIVE
WWFSA says ranger training and new black rhino project aims to fight ongoing poaching crisis
Image: MARIANNE SCHWANKHART
World Wide Fund South Africa (WWFSA) raised concerns about ongoing rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal, where 325 rhinos were killed in the past year.
The concerns come after forestry, fisheries and environmental affairs minister Barbara Creecy released rhino poaching figures on Tuesday.
Figures indicate 62% (307) of the total number of rhinos lost in South Africa in 2023 (499) were illegally killed in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.
In 2022 448 rhinos were illegally killed in the country, 244 of them in KwaZulu-Natal.
Among a range of interventions Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is implementing, WWFSA said it would support improving field ranger capacity through targeted training and improving living conditions for rangers.
Jeff Cooke, WWFSA black rhino range expansion project leader, said the organisation was also assisting Ezemvelo in developing an integrity management plan to build organisational resilience.
The project aims to increase the number of critically endangered black rhinos by facilitating the creation of new populations.
Relentless poaching sees more rhinos killed
According to Cooke, in the past two decades 250 black rhinos have been moved to new project sites where they have the space to breed and thrive.
He said more than 200 calves have been born at these sites and there are now 16 new black rhino populations in Southern Africa.
The project has also seen the range of black rhinos in KwaZulu-Natal increase by more than 50%, he said.
“The province has a proud record of having played a critical role in rhino conservation when rhino numbers had dwindled to a few hundred animals. This is why we are committing resources towards supporting the authorities in their efforts to turn the tide on the illegal killing of rhinos, particularly in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park,” said Cooke.
He said there was a growing recognition of the importance of professionalising rangers working on the front line of conservation efforts by improving morale and building trust within law enforcement teams.
He said this was one tangible area where WWFSA was hoping it could make a difference.
“It is also imperative we continue to focus on growing rhino numbers and increasing range as quickly as possible, through efforts such as the black rhino range expansion project, in the hope of building resilience in the populations to guard against the poaching onslaught,” he said.
In September last year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) indicated rhino numbers across Africa had increased by 5.2% between 2021 and 2022.
Black rhino numbers rose by 4.2% from 2021 to 6,487 animals.
White rhino numbers increased to 16,803 (an increase of 5.6%) for the first time since 2012.
Cooke said: “While these updated IUCN populations figures provide hope, the gains remain tenuous as long as the poaching crisis continues.”
TimesLIVE
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