36 Black Rhinos are expected to be imported from South Africa to Tanzania next month in appreciation of the two countries’ historical bilateral ties. This is welcome news to a country whose Black Rhino population has suffered countless losses at the hands of poachers.

The rhinos will be comprised of 18 males and 18 females, and will begin arriving in one of Tanzania’s national parks in early August.

Shamsa Mwangunga, Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, said that the exact number of rhinos left in Tanzania is not known at this time.

There is a danger of rhinos being wiped out altogether in our country. We don’t have any figures on how many rhinos there are at present…They are very rarely seen in the wild, we have to use special technology to pinpoint their locations.

Why Black Rhinos were selected

While South Africa has both White and Black Rhinos, the Black Rhinos were selected because they will thrive in Tanzania’s environment. White Rhinos are primarily grazers, while Black Rhinos are browsers.

Black Rhino population

There are currently approximately 4,240 black rhinos surviving.

According to International Rhino Foundation:

In 1970, it was estimated that there were approximately 65,000 black rhinos in Africa – but, by 1993, there were only 2,300 surviving in the wild. Intensive anti-poaching efforts have had encouraging results since 1996. Numbers have been recovering and still are increasing very slowly. With the growing purchasing power of many Asian countries, and the existence of organized gangs of poachers who sell rhino horn to black market syndicates in some range countries, the poaching threat remains great and anti-poaching efforts must be continued and accelerated.

Here’s to hoping Tanzania’s new rhino pairs are prolific!

Image source: flickr.com/poplinre/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

---

Tanzania Expecting a Boost in Black Rhino Population by Rhishja Larson originally published July 24, 2009 on EcoWorldly.

---

You might also enjoy: