It’s about four months now when the eastern black Rhino re-surfaced again in the Rwanda Safari destination of Akagera National Park following 10 years of disappearance.
The historic move that saw a range of twenty (20) endangered eastern black Rhinos from South Africa transfer to Rwanda is recorded among the Rwanda’s success ventures as regards wildlife conservation and enhancing destination competitiveness. Akagera National Park now stands as a profound destination for the travellers on Safari in Rwanda seeking to explore the African Big five.
Listed as critically endangered species on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Eastern black Rhino is the smaller of the two Rhino species thriving in Africa and is found in Southern and East Africa Safari tour destinations of Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and South Africa along with Angola.
Their populations suffered a drastic decrease between 1970 and 1992 due to poaching as demand for the Rhino horn in the Asian countries was very high. Other causes included changes in their habitats. However, following the ban of their commercial trade by The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild fauna and flora (CITES) and translocation of surplus Rhinos to re-establish their populations in the former range like the case of Akagera Rwanda, the black Rhino population is improving.
The Black Rhino re-introduction in Akagera National Park was aided financially by the Howard Buffett Foundation which is headed by the son of Warren Buffet a US billionaire. The control measures by the park to protect these Rhinos include expert Rhino tracking and protection, helicopter air surveillance and canine anti-poaching unit.
The wildlife extension to Akagera National Park can be done as part of the Rwanda gorilla safaris to Volcanoes National Park or Rwanda Chimpanzee trekking tours to Nyungwe Forest National Park.
