Rhino Conservation in Africa

Authors

Andrew N. Rowan, WellBeing InternationalFollow

Abstract

The recovery of white rhinos from a small population of 20 animals in 1895 to tens of thousands today is a major conservation success story, but we are again facing a rapid decline in the numbers of both species of African rhinoceros due mainly to poaching. Demand for rhino horn, mainly from the Far East, has led to an epidemic of poaching. The healthy population of white rhinos in South Africa’s Kruger National Park has fallen from just under 12,000 individuals in 2010 to around 2,200 in 2022. At the current rate of decline, white rhinos will be eliminated from the park by 2025. Today, the future of rhino conservation primarily lies in the hands of private wildlife conservancies, but the costs of protecting those rhinos from poachers have increased rapidly, and African rhino populations are again under serious threat.

Recommended Citation

Rowan, Andrew N. (2023) "Rhino Conservation in Africa," WellBeing News: Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/wbn/vol5/iss1/2