Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 04-07-2019
The World Wide Fund (WWF) Black Rhino Range Expansion Project (BRREP) says in the wake of relentless poaching, the organisation is trying to increase the number of black rhinos by putting them into new conservation areas to assist with their reproduction rate.
The BRREP which was established in 2003 by veterinarian and project leader Dr Jacques Flamand is one of WWF’s most successful species conservation projects ever.
Over the past 16 years it has established 11 black rhino populations in private and community reserves in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Limpopo.
Speaking to Radio Islam, project coordinator Ursina Rusch says the project is central to the goal of increasing the population growth of black rhinos.
“We do this by taking black rhinos from provincial parks in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape and putting them on new land where they have a lot of area and where they’re able to breed and live a good life.”
With only 2 000 left in South Africa. Black rhinos once numbered more than 100 000 across sub-Saharan Africa, but from the 1960’s poaching for their horns decimated their numbers to less than 3%.
Listen to the interview with Ursina Rusch
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