Rhino Project
The History of Rhino in Botswana
The White Rhino and the Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis) occurred in
northern Botswana until relatively recently. The Black Rhino seems
to have been rare and confined to the Kwando-Chobe areas, but the
White Rhino population was widespread and common throughout
northern Botswana in the middle of the last century.
As a result of indiscriminate shooting of rhino, mainly by sport
hunters, both species were reduced to very low numbers by the
1960s. A re-introduction programme began in 1967 when four White
Rhino were introduced from Natal. Between 1974 and 1981, the
Botswana Government, with support from Natal Parks Board,
re-introduced a total of 71 White Rhino into Chobe National Park
and 19 into Moremi Game Reserve. The animals were released directly
from the transfer crates; many wandered considerable distances in
search of suitable habitat, and some died.
When given the normal rate of increase of this species, the rhino
population should have increased to about 200 in 1992 and about 400
today. However, by 1992, it was evident that the majority of the
White Rhino population had either died or been killed by illegal
hunters. It should be remembered that the 1980s saw a wave of
illegal off-take of elephants and rhinos sweeping down from eastern
Africa to Zambia, Mozambique and Angola. Botswana, Zimbabwe and, to
a lesser extent, South Africa were affected by incursions from
these areas and became conduits for the illegal traffic in ivory
and rhino horn. As a result, the rhino populations of northern
Botswana were greatly reduced.
Botswana plans to conserve the
Rhino
A survey carried out by the Natal Parks Board in 1992 found only
19 White Rhino. Black Rhino appear to have become extinct by this
time. At this stage, the Botswana Government developed a
three-stage policy for the conservation of White Rhino:
* To capture as many surviving White Rhino as possible and
translocate them to protected sanctuaries such as the Khama Rhino
Sanctuary near Serowe and the Mokolodi Private Game Reserve near
Gabarone;
* To allow the populations in these sanctuaries to increase, while
effective protection was implemented in the national parks and game
reserves, through effective law enforcement and the provision of
conservation incentives to local communities and other strata of
society; and,
* When it is safe to do so, to re-introduce populations of White
Rhino from the protected sanctuaries back into the wild in the
national parks and game reserves.
Implementation of the first stage of this policy was initiated in
1993, with the capture and translocation of the remaining White
Rhino, of which there were four, from the Chobe National Park to
the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. A sub-adult male subsequently died as a
result of gun shot wounds inflicted by illegal hunters prior to
capture. Between 1994 and 1996, three more rhino were relocated to
the Khama Sanctuary from Moremi Game Reserve, while three remained
uncaptured in the area.
In June 1995, the Khama Rhino Sanctuary received five more White
Rhino from North West Parks Board of South Africa. There are
currently 29 White Rhino held in protected sanctuaries in Botswana,
of which 28 are under private management and 1 under Government
management. These rhino are located in the following areas:
* Khama Rhino Sanctuary 16
* Mokolodi Private Game Reserve 9
* Gaborone Game Reserve 1
* Gantzi (private game farm) 3
The policy of re-introducing White Rhino to the wild was
formalised in an internal strategy paper prepared by the Department
of Wildlife