On the Edge: Species Facing Extinction

Black rhinos are native to southern and eastern Africa, with populations in Namibia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. They thrive in a variety of environments, including semi-desert savannas, woodlands, forests, and wetlands. Black rhinos prefer habitats with abundant shrubs, woody plants, nearby water sources, and access to mineral licks, usually within a 5–10 km radius.

Black rhinos have a long gestation period of 15–17 months, after which females give birth to a single calf in a solitary, sheltered location. Newborn calves weigh between 30–45 kg and can stand within hours of birth, beginning to suckle shortly after. While weaning typically occurs within two months, calves often stay with their mothers for 2–4 years, gaining essential survival skills before becoming independent. During oestrus, females are courted by males over several days, and once paired, the pair may stay together for up to 30 days to ensure successful mating. While there is a higher ratio of male calves born than female calves, male mortality rate is higher, leading to adult sex ratios biased towards females. 

While often solitary, black rhinos can be semi-social in some environments. Groups occasionally gather at waterholes, challenging the notion that they are strictly solitary. They have very poor eyesight, and cannot easily detect an observer standing more than 30 metres away. They do, however, have an excellent sense of smell and hearing to compensate. This is vital in how they communicate with one another, as they use something called “scent-marking”. They do this with urine sprays, dung piles, and head rubbing. This communicates that territories have been established and signals reproductive status.

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Once a common sight across Africa, black rhinos have faced a tragic decline over the last century. Historically, their numbers were in the hundreds of thousands, roaming freely across much of sub-Saharan Africa. However, during the 19th and 20th centuries, hunting and habitat destruction took a severe toll on their population. By 1970, only an estimated 65,000 black rhinos remained. The most catastrophic decline occurred between 1970 and 1992, as poaching surged due to the rising demand for rhino horns in Asia and the Middle East. During this period, the black rhino population plummeted by an astounding 96%, leaving fewer than 2,400 individuals in the wild.

Today, black rhinos remain critically endangered, facing several ongoing threats that threaten their very existence. The most significant of these is poaching, driven by the continued demand for rhino horn, which is believed to have medicinal properties and serves as a status symbol. Despite international bans, illegal trade remains at large, making rhinos prime targets for poachers. In addition to poaching, habitat loss is another major challenge. As human populations grow, forests, savannas, and wetlands—the rhinos' natural habitats—are increasingly destroyed for agriculture, urban development, and infrastructure projects. Furthermore, climate change is exacerbating the crisis by altering rainfall patterns and vegetation availability, which disrupts the rhinos' food and water sources, pushing them into more fragmented and less sustainable habitats.

With fewer than 5,500 black rhinos remaining in the wild, the fight for their survival has never been more urgent. 

One of the most critical aspects of black rhino conservation has been the implementation of anti-poaching measures. In response to the lucrativeness of the rhino horn market, various African countries have intensified efforts to combat poaching through enhanced surveillance, ranger patrols, and dehorning programs. Anti-poaching teams employ high-tech tools such as drones (which help herd rhinos away from poaching hotspots), GPS tracking, and infrared cameras to monitor rhino populations and deter illegal activities. In some regions, rhinos are dehorned as a preventive measure, though this approach is not without controversy.

A study analyzing monitoring data, including 24,760 observations of 368 black rhinos from 2005 to 2020, explored the effects of dehorning. The study also used GPS data to measure the home ranges of 68 rhinos two years before and after dehorning and compared this to 120 rhinos that had never been dehorned. The results showed that dehorned females reduced their home ranges by an average of 53%, while dehorned males reduced theirs by 38%. Additionally, dehorned rhinos had 37% fewer social interactions. Meanwhile, horned rhinos expanded their ranges by more than 50%.

However, Vanessa Duthé, a researcher at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, who contributed to the study, does not believe these behavioural changes have negatively affected rhino populations overall. She notes that rhino numbers have remained stable in the reserves studied. Duthé suggests that while dehorning may have reduced the mating success of formerly dominant bulls, it has also allowed younger bulls to take their place, thereby maintaining population stability.

To provide a sanctuary for rhinos, protected areas such as wildlife reserves and national parks have become vital refuges. These zones offer black rhinos a safe environment away from the threat of poaching and habitat destruction. Wildlife conservation organizations collaborate with local governments to establish and maintain these protected zones, ensuring that black rhinos have access to ample food, water, and shelter. The success of these protected areas is essential to the recovery of black rhino populations, as they create spaces where the species can thrive without the constant threat of human interference.

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of community involvement in rhino conservation. African Parks has made significant strides in wildlife conservation by implementing comprehensive strategies to protect endangered species and engage local communities. In Liwonde National Park, Malawi, the organization has successfully reduced poaching through enhanced security measures, including fencing, a larger ranger unit, and advanced technology such as drones and GPS tracking. Additionally, African Parks invests in local communities by providing jobs, education, healthcare, and infrastructure, which creates a strong partnership between the parks and surrounding areas, discouraging illegal hunting. The organization has also played a pivotal role in reintroducing black rhinos to historic habitats, including the translocation of rhinos to Akagera National Park in Rwanda and Majete Wildlife Reserve and Liwonde National Park in Malawi, strengthening the species' populations and genetic diversity. Through these combined efforts, African Parks has shown that successful conservation requires a holistic approach that benefits both wildlife and local communities.

These efforts have seen some success, with rhino populations stabilizing in certain regions, though much work remains.