Recently, four rhinoceroses walked freely in Uganda after more than 40 years of absence of the species in the country, marking a turning point in the conservation of the species in the country.
These are four southern white rhinoceroses introduced into the Ajai Wildlife Reserve of Uganda.
This is a milestone for African biodiversity because these mammals had been extinct in the wild for decades.
In the 1980s, poaching and the nation’s political instability locally extinguished these mammals.
The last rhinoceros in Uganda, a black specimen, died in 1983 at the hands of poachers.
However, the release of these four specimens marks the return of the species to the country.
The ambitious program to reintroduce rhinoceroses in Uganda
Environmental authorities in Uganda confirmed the successful transfer of the rhinoceroses this week.
“We did it. This Wednesday we transferred four rhinoceroses to the Ajai Wildlife Reserve,” declared Bashir Hangi, spokesperson for the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
The rhinoceroses reintroduced in Uganda were transported by land from the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
There, the four specimens were raised in semi-captivity to repopulate the country’s natural spaces.
This first phase is part of a broader program. The authorities expect to transfer a total of 20 white rhinoceroses to the reserve in the coming months.
The Ajai Wildlife Reserve is a remote and little-visited natural area. However, it has ideal characteristics for these herbivores:
- Sufficient water supply
- Suitable pastures for feeding
- Appropriate habitat for the species
- Reinforced security conditions
The key role of the Ziwa Sanctuary
“The return of the rhinoceroses to Ajai is a moment of pride and excitement for Uganda,” said James Musinguzi, executive director of UWA.
And he added: “It is the result of years of work dedicated to conservation and a successful breeding program at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.”
The sanctuary allowed the rhinoceros population to grow steadily.
Thanks to strict security measures, constant monitoring, and successful breeding programs, the species was able to recover.
In the past, Uganda was home to a significant population of black rhinoceroses, currently critically endangered.
At the time, the demand for horns in some Asian countries, where they were mistakenly attributed medicinal properties, drove poaching.
This turned Uganda into fertile ground for the local extinction of rhinoceroses.
The nation also once hosted a small population of northern white rhinoceroses, of which only two females remain in semi-captivity in Kenya.
Regional conservation context
The rhinoceroses reintroduced in the reserve belong to the subspecies of southern white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum ssp. simum).
These are native to southern African countries such as South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
Although there are white rhinoceroses in the wild in some Kenyan reserves, they all belong to the southern subspecies.
These were introduced in the 1970s to create backup populations outside of South Africa.
By the end of 2024, Africa was home to about 22,540 rhinoceroses: 6,788 black and 15,752 southern white, according to estimates by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Now, the goal is for these to walk freely in their motherland, and not in semi-captivity.
