{"id":39566,"date":"2019-06-25T12:50:27","date_gmt":"2019-06-25T12:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/five-rhinos-from-europe-safely-released-in-the\/"},"modified":"2019-06-27T13:04:39","modified_gmt":"2019-06-27T13:04:39","slug":"five-rhinos-from-europe-safely-released-in-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/five-rhinos-from-europe-safely-released-in-the\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Rhinos from Europe safely released in the wild of Akagera National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

Akagera National Park\u2019s Eastern Black Rhino population has grown with the arrival of five new individuals from European zoos following a translocation undertaken by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and African Parks, which manages Akagera National Park in partnership with the RDB. <\/p>\n

Two male and three female Eastern Black Rhinoceroses were released into the wild of Akagera on Monday 24th June 2019, with the aim of increasing the genetic diversity of the park\u2019s rhino population and aiding efforts to restore the critically endangered subspecies in Rwanda and the region.<\/p>\n

Talking on the arrival of the new rhinos, Jes Gruner, Akagera National Park Manager said the newly translocated rhinos will bolster the founder group introduced in 2017, contributing to the reestablishment of a robust Eastern Black Rhino population in Rwanda. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis unique achievement represents the culmination of an unprecedented international effort to improve the survival prospects of a critically endangered rhino subspecies in the wild. Their arrival also marks an important step in Akagera\u2019s ongoing revitalization, and one that underscores the country\u2019s commitment to conservation,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Originally hailing from Safari Park Dv\u016fr Kr\u00e1lov\u00e9 (Czech Republic), Flamingo Land (United Kingdom) and Ree Park Safari (Denmark), and selected from the EAZA Ex Situ Programme (EEP) for Black Rhino, the five rhinos began their journey from the Czech Republic on the 23rd June following months of preparation at Safari Park Dv\u016fr Kr\u00e1lov\u00e9. Every precaution was taken to minimize stress and ensure their well-being throughout the translocation process. They were flown to Kigali before being transferred to Akagera National Park by truck. <\/p>\n

On the afternoon of 24th June, all five Eastern black rhinos were released into enclosures in the park where they will remain for at least three weeks to ensure they have time to acclimatize to their new environment. Once they have adjusted, they will be released into a 10-hectare sanctuary where they will continue to be closely monitored for several months as they establish themselves in the area before being released into the wider park.<\/p>\n

Clare Akamanzi, the CEO of the Rwanda Development Board said the country is committed to the long-term success of Eastern Black Rhinos in Rwanda. <\/p>\n

\u201cTheir health and well-being is crucial to wildlife conservation and biodiversity protection efforts, both in Rwanda and across Africa. We couldn\u2019t be prouder of the strong community-led conservation efforts that make their new home, Akagera National Park, one of the most vibrant and spectacular Big Five Parks in the region, and we are sure that the Park\u2019s newest residents will settle in well,\u201d she stressed. <\/p>\n

\u201cTourists visiting Akagera National Park will get to witness a truly wonderful sight, the Eastern Black Rhino in its natural habitat,\u201d added Akamanzi. <\/p>\n

Akagera National Park, a protected savannah habitat in Rwanda that contains excellent black rhino habitat, has undergone a remarkable transformation since African Parks assumed management in 2010 in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board. <\/p>\n

In 2017, ten years after Eastern Black Rhinos had last been seen in Akagera, the species were reintroduced with the translocation of 18 individuals from South Africa through a project supported by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. <\/p>\n

The founder population that now numbers 20 adapted well, demonstrating the park\u2019s potential to sustain a black rhino population while underscoring the extremely high levels of security and effective park management provided by African Parks and the Government of Rwanda. <\/p>\n

Just under a decade of management with improved law enforcement and strong community and economic development initiatives has seen poaching practically eliminated, key species including lion and rhino returned, significant support fostered for conservation, and vibrant tourism leading to Akagera being 80% self-financing.<\/p>\n

The long-term viability and genetic health of Rwanda\u2019s Eastern Black Rhino population requires the introduction of additional animals. The five newly translocated individuals\u2014two males and three females whose ages range from two to nine\u2014were carefully selected and result from the foresight and vision of EAZA in helping to supplement wild populations in secure parks in Africa with genetically-robust individuals successfully bred and nurtured by the EEP. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe success of the EEP has enabled us to supplement natural populations of rhinos in Africa,\u201d said Dr. Thomas Kauffels, Chair of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. <\/p>\n

\u201cModern zoos are a key part of the conservation landscape, and our collaboration with Akagera National Park and the Rwanda Development Board demonstrates how zoos can contribute directly to the conservation and recovery of endangered species in protected landscapes,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Extensive security measures have been implemented to ensure the long-term safety and well-being of Akagera\u2019s rhinos. They include an expertly trained rhino tracking and protection team put in place in 2017, a canine anti-poaching unit, and the deployment of a helicopter for critical air surveillance to enhance protection of the park \u2013 all made possible with funding provided by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. <\/p>\n

Black rhinos are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with fewer than 5,000 black rhinos remaining across their range in the wild, and of these approximately 1,000 are the critically endangered Eastern black subspecies. <\/p>\n

This translocation, which is being carried out according to IUCN guidelines, represents an urgent and valuable opportunity to expand the range of the black rhino with the help of captive-bred rhinos to supplement and repopulate wild populations. It also forms part of the Government of Rwanda\u2019s vision to revitalize and protect its natural heritage to create a future in which both people and wildlife can thrive.<\/p>\n

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Five endangered Eastern Black Rhinoceroses have been successfully translocated from Safari Park Dv\u016fr Kr\u00e1lov\u00e9 in the Czech Republic and released into the wild of Akagera National Park in Rwanda, expanding the genetic diversity of a founder population introduced in 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-39566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39566\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39566"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=39566"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=39566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}