Conserving Threatened Rhinos in South Africa

Rhino populations are in crisis due to the high value of rhino horn combined with widespread poaching. From 2008–2015, there was an exponential increase in poaching of both white rhinos and black rhinos in South Africa (Pernetta, 2014), which contains 86% of the world’s remaining rhino population (Emslie et al. 2019). Between 2010 and 2015 a total of 4,843 rhinos were illegally killed in South Africa, with 1,175 deaths in 2015 alone. This amounts to an average of three individuals per day (Pernetta, 2014). Losses to poaching slowly declined after 2015, though challenges in anti-poaching staffing in protected areas due to the COVID pandemic have resulted in a surge since 2020. The latest numbers suggest that, at the current rates of rhino poaching in South Africa, they may become extinct within the next 10–20 years.

This situation requires immediate action not only to reduce the levels of poaching but also to 1) investigate the impacts of anti-poaching actions, including land and animal management (such as rhino horn trimming), on the animals themselves and 2) determine what variables affect rhino behaviour and habitat use to help understand, and predict, where they will be found on the landscape. This helps to inform land management and anti-poaching activities.

The goal of the project is to provide information that will help to conserve and manage rhinos in South Africa. We share information with rhino owners on the behavioural and welfare implications of horn trimming and provide supporting evidence on land management practices that may help to identify and reduce poaching risk. In addition, we will demonstrate how rhinos support biodiversity and ecosystem functions, and in so doing, provide further evidence of their inherent value in ecosystem support.

Country:

South Africa

• Prof Dawn Scott, Principal Investigator, School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, NTU

• Dr Lynne McTavish, Co – Principal Investigator , South African Ecology Field Research Center | Mankwe Wildlife Reserve

• Melissa Dawson, PhD student and field staff, South African Ecology Field Research Center | Mankwe Wildlife Reserve

• Dr Maureen Berg, Co – Investigator , School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton

• Dr Rachel White, Co – Investigator, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton

• Dr Angleo Pernetta, Co – Investigator, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton

• Dr Sam Penny, Co – Investigator, Institute of Conservation Science & Learning, Bristol Zoological Society

• Conserving Threatened Rhinos in South Africa | Earthwatch

• Earthwatch Podcast: Conserving Rhinos in South Africa with Lynne MacTavish on Apple Podcasts