South Africa’s Rhino Quest

The rhino story of South Africa is like a roller coaster ride of emotions. There are ups and downs, challenges, and triumphs. But at the crux of it, it’s the story of a species’ resilience and humanity’s ability to work together for great good.

Through committed and careful scientific research, human perseverance, determination, and a generous helping of luck, the species still exists today and hopefully will for many generations.

In 1952, Dr Ian Player spearheaded an initiative called Operation Rhino. He saw that the species was at dire risk of extinction, and indeed, in some areas of South Africa, it was already locally extinct.

Player and his team ensured the survival of rhinos in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve in KwaZulu Natal. They relocated them back into reserves all over South Africa to expand their range and establish viable populations in other areas. This greatly increasing their chances of survival should some catastrophic event wipe out rhinos in any one place, and also improved genetic diversity, further bolstering species fitness.

From as little only 50 individuals left in the wild, Dr Player and his team carefully bred and protected, relocated, and expanded their range until rhinos numbered over 20,000 in South Africa. The population peak was reached around 2007. Then park officials all over the country started noticing a trend. There seemed to be a rising number of rhino poaching incidents.

Read the rest of EcoTraining’s dramatic account of the rhino’s quest for survival in South Africa here: