Friday, October 10, 2008

Black Rhinos being reintroduced into the wild

A non-cat related post today - but it is such a landmark step in Kenya's wildlife conservation that it needs to be mentioned. For the first time in twenty five years, authorities in the East African nation of Kenya are reintroducing black rhinos into the wild. This comes after years of sustained efforts by conservationists to bring these magnificent creatures back from the brink of extinction.

In 1970 there were reportedly twenty thousand black rhinos in Kenya. But decades of persecution and poaching meant that not so long ago rhinos were wiped out through most of Kenya's wilderness. Thereafter they were moved into protected wildlife sanctuaries to protect the species' survival. Today, after years of dedicated work by scientists and conservationists in Kenya, rhino numbers are slowly increasing - being around five hundred at the moment. As a result the wildlife authorities have taken the bold and historic move to reintroduce these black rhinos, who have spent most of their lives in captivity, gradually into the wild. A landmark move indeed - one which may have implications for the survival of many of Africa's endangered animals. There are some wonderful videos on BBC's site, documenting the event:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7649043.stm

4 comments:

PurrPrints said...

I'm glad you shared this, even if it isn't cat related; it's good to see some promising news about conservation given how much bad news there always is to be found!

BeadedTail said...

That's wonderful to know! I'm glad you shared this information!

Mickey's Musings said...

That is so nice to see!!!! I hope the day will come when humans no longer slaughter animals for cultural, religious,sport,monetary or any other reason!!!!!
Thank you for sharing :)

Sandee said...

I so hope this works out well for the rhinos going back into the wild. I'm also glad that there are so many dedicated in protecting our wildlife. Have a great day. :)

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