{"id":54432,"date":"2025-06-10T17:37:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T17:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/rwanda-receives-70-white-rhinos-from-south-africa\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T17:07:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T17:07:01","slug":"rwanda-receives-70-white-rhinos-from-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-receives-70-white-rhinos-from-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda receives 70 white rhinos from South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The operation, involving 70 rhinos sourced from South Africa and completed in two phases of 35 rhinos each, aims to strengthen Rwanda\u2019s role in global rhino conservation and bolster the species\u2019 population in secure, well-managed habitats.<\/p>\n<p>The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) partnered with African Parks and the Munywana Conservancy, with funding from The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, to execute this ambitious project. <\/p>\n<p>The rhinos were initially relocated within the country to the Munywana Conservancy to acclimate to conditions similar to Akagera. They were then transported 3,400 km by truck, plane, and road\u2014a two-day journey per group involving a Boeing 747 flight from Durban to Kigali. <\/p>\n<p>Veterinary teams monitored the animals throughout to ensure their well-being.<\/p>\n<p>The translocation builds on the 2021 introduction of 30 white rhinos to Akagera, which has grown to 41 animals. <\/p>\n<p>The addition of 70 more rhinos supports the Rhino Rewild Initiative\u2019s goal to rewild over 2,000 southern white rhinos across Africa, creating viable populations to secure the species\u2019 future and restore ecosystems.<\/p>\n<p>Jean-Guy Afrika, CEO of RDB, described the move as a milestone for Rwanda\u2019s conservation and sustainable tourism ambitions. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis historic translocation reflects Rwanda\u2019s growing contribution to global conservation efforts,\u201d he said. \u201cIt strengthens our protected landscapes and enhances Rwanda\u2019s appeal as a destination for conservation-based tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks, emphasised the complexity of the operation and the critical role of partnerships. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the safe arrival of all 70 animals, they have a real opportunity to thrive,\u201d he said. \u201cThe coming months of intensive monitoring will be crucial for their adaptation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rhinos are now under close observation in Akagera to ensure their health and adjustment. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-88848 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_47_pm-2ac39.jpg\" alt=\"The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) partnered with African Parks and the Munywana Conservancy, with funding from The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, to execute this ambitious project. \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-88847 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_49_pm_1_-7353f.jpg\" alt=\"The operation, involving 70 rhinos sourced from South Africa, was completed in two phases of 35 rhinos each.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-88844 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_50_pm_1_-a497a.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-88843 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_51_pm-02914.jpg\" alt=\"The rhinos were initially relocated within the country to the Munywana Conservancy to acclimate to conditions similar to Akagera. They were then transported 3,400 km by truck, plane, and road\u2014a two-day journey per group involving a Boeing 747 flight from Durban to Kigali. \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-88842 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_52_pm_1_-e6ed6.jpg\" alt=\"The rhinos were initially relocated within the country to the Munywana Conservancy to acclimate to conditions similar to Akagera. \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-88841 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_52_pm-23f91.jpg\" alt=\"The translocation builds on the 2021 introduction of 30 white rhinos to Akagera, which has grown to 41 animals. \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-88840 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_48_pm_1_-8d51c.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rwanda has welcomed 70 southern white rhinos to Akagera National Park, marking the first cross-continental move under African Parks\u2019 Rhino Rewild Initiative. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000088849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-54432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","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":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","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":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000088849,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_47_pm-2ac39.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_47_pm-2ac39.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_47_pm-2ac39.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_47_pm-2ac39.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_47_pm-2ac39.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-10_at_4.46_47_pm-2ac39.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54432","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\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000088849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54432"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=54432"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=54432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}