Africa Wild

Some rhino history: South-central black rhino Diceros bicornis minor and Southern white rhino Ceratotherium simum in KNP


South-central black rhino went locally extinct and the last one was sighted during 1936.
Reintroduction commenced in 1971, with a total of 81 black rhinos introduced by 1990. By 2009 black rhinos were increasing at 6.8% (95 % CI: 0.041–0.098) per annum and have reached a population size of 627 (95% CI: 588–666). South-eastern black rhino had high survival and an estimated inter-calving interval of 2.45 years. Age distributions and population growth suggested higher survival rates for dependent calves and adults compared to sub-adult males and females. The poaching onslaught since 2008 has resulted in a decline in the population. Several removals (six to Liwonde National Park in Malawi, six to Venetia Game Reserve (seven were captured with one capture related mortality), 12 (13 were caught with one capture related mortality) to North Luangwa National Park in Zambia, six to Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana and two orphans were raised and sold to private owners before 2012) can influence population responses.

Southern white rhinos were locally extinct by the turn of the 19th century. Authorities introduced 351 white rhinos between 1960 and 1972 sourced from Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. By the middle of the 1980s, authorities started to remove rhinos from KNP as donations to other conservation areas and zoological gardens. The population proliferated and by the late 1990s, authorities sold/exchanged and donated annually between 0.1% and 1.6% of the white rhinos to private owners as part of a developing wildlife economy associated with southern white rhinos and to other conservation areas. Between 1995 and 2015, 1465 white rhinos were moved out of KNP. Twenty-seven rhino orphans (24 white rhino and three black rhino) were rescued from 2012 to 2015 during the increased poaching onslaught. Twenty-four of these orphans were still alive by the end of 2015. Even so, rhinos continue to colonise KNP with 77.1% of landscapes having white rhinos present by 2010. Since 2008, the population was influenced by poaching as well as density- and rainfall-dependent responses in birth and death rate.

Klippies!

Yes, black rhino survive much better as they often hang out in thick bush.

Thank you, Klippie

There’s a terrifying nuance here. “We think there may be simply fewer rhinos to poach. Poachers have to work harder to find targets and the number of known incursions into the park, about seven a day, reflect this,” says Sowry. Hers is a review that may be more telling than the Department of Environment’s February rah-rah-good-news media release on 2018 poaching statistics, peppered with self-congratulations such as “significant progress”, a “decrease in rhino poaching” and the “first time in five years that the annual figure is under 1,000”.

“The reality of rhino poaching is evident when one looks at [past] census data. If we go back to 2010 at the start of the rhino-poaching crisis there were estimated to be over 12,000 white rhinos in the Kruger Park, the current figures are not clear as there is no official census data available,” the college reports in a 2019 newsletter. “However, by all accounts, and from our regular flights, rhino numbers in the park have declined substantially.”

It took the department several weeks to respond to repeated questions from Daily Maverick on why its poaching statistics appear at odds with on-the-ground observations that mortalities might be outgunning natural population growth. When we approached South African National Parks for up-to-date population census data in late July, its media team referred us back to the department. Finally, on July 31, the department released a statement asserting yet more anti-poaching “successes”.

We eventually got newly appointed Minister of Environment Barbara Creecy on the line on 12 August, thanks in no small part to dedicated co-ordinated efforts by her spokespeople.

“If you look at the figures for poaching in 2014 nationally, we were dealing with 1,215 rhinos poached. In 2018, 769 animals were poached,” she said. “Obviously, we would have concerns about the number of animals cumulatively poached from 2012 to 2018. It’s a huge number; and we have to be concerned about the long term-impact this will have on the gene pool of the species. At the same time, we have to acknowledge the incredible work done through integrated management and the significant work our rangers are doing on the ground. It’s dangerous and stressful and I had the opportunity to see it for myself.

“So I wouldn’t agree with you that we must be saying there are no rhino left — why are we spending all this money on protecting the animals if it wasn’t paying dividends?”

Asked if these dividends were based on new data — reliable and up-to-date population estimates — Creecy responded: “We are turning around the poaching. We haven’t released the new population figures. Do you think that if poachers knew how much rhino are left in Kruger that this would be a good thing?”

Her people slipped her information.

“According to the IUCN [International Union for the Conservation of Nature] Red List there has to be a census update every five years and, obviously, if we wanted to do it more often, we could,” she added.

The Kruger National Park population numbers most recently released to the public, according to the department’s September 2018 press release, were counted in 2017. This gives us a “likely” stabilised population of 586-427 black rhino in the park and a declining white rhino population of 5,532-4,759 animals. This also gives us a situation in which the global community at the 18th triennial meeting, or “CoP18”, is taking voting decisions on southern Africa’s rhino with old data at their disposal for the world’s largest rhino population — unless, of course, they’re miraculously privy to intelligence not yet seen by the public.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/special ... ino_files/

This is already in the article posted by Klippie under COP 18

But this part in fact rightly belongs here

Committee Meeting | Environment, Forestry and Fisheries 20 Aug 2019

https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/28705/

https://pmg.org.za/files/190820Sector_overview.pptx

From the department's presentation

Does the department want SANParks to do an up-to-date rhino -census

Sounds as if the new Minister is serious about the problematics

It sounds as if the committee has put the finger on a lot of very relevant problems

Talking about the fishery, the abalone poaching was not mentioned

https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/28760/

SANParks statement on the last rhino census in KNP:

Ms McCourt replied that South Africa is winning the war on poaching. The aerial census is continuing but the latest census has yielded some confusing results. That is why it has not been released yet as the department is currently studying the mortality number and low fertility rates due to the drought. However, in Kruger we are still within the sustainability range for rhinos.

"Confusing results"???



From 15 000 down to 1000-2000, as we predicted.

Personally I think that the above is a lot of "avoiding the truth" nonsense

And what is this supposed to mean:

However, in Kruger we are still within the sustainability range for rhinos.