Environmentalists Celebrate Return of Rhinos in Central Kenya

Conservationists in Kenya are celebrating the return of many rhinoceroses to an area where they have not been for many years.

The successful move of 21 eastern black rhinos to a new home will give them space to reproduce and could help increase the population of the highly endangered animals. The effort was Kenya's biggest-ever move of rhinos.

The rhinos were taken from three parks that are becoming overpopulated to the private Loisaba Conservancy, a place where poachers killed all the rhinos many years ago.

Moving the rhinos required 18 days. Conservationists followed the rhinos using a helicopter. They then shot them with special guns that inject tranquilizer into the animals, which weigh hundreds of kilograms. The rhinos then have to be loaded into the back of a truck.

Disaster nearly struck early in the move. A tranquilized rhino fell into a small river. Officials involved with the move held the rhino's head above water with a rope to prevent it from drowning while a drug to undo the tranquilizer took effect. The animal was then released.

Some of the rhinos were taken from Nairobi National Park. They had to travel 300-kilometers. Others came from two parks closer to Loisaba.

Rhinos usually stay by themselves and require large territories. As numbers in three parks have increased, wildlife officials decided to move some of the animals to Loisaba. They hope the rhinos will be happier and more likely to reproduce.

David Ndere is an expert on rhinos at the Kenya Wildlife Service. He said rhino reproduction rates decrease when they are crowded in a territory.

"By removing some animals, we expect that the rhino population in those areas will rise up," Ndere said. "And then we reintroduce that founder population of at least 20 animals into new areas."

Loisaba Conservancy said it has put aside around 25,000 hectares for the new arrivals, which are a mix of males and females.

Kenya has had some success in bringing back black rhinos. The population fell from around 20,000 in the 1970s to below 300 in the 1980s because of poaching, conservationists say. The loss increased fears that the animals might disappear from the country. Kenya now has around 1,000 black rhinos, the third biggest population after South Africa and Namibia.

There are just over 6,400 wild black rhinos left in the world, all of them are in Africa, the organization Save the Rhino International said.

Tom Silvester is the chief executive officer of Loisaba Conservancy. He said Kenya's plan is to get its black rhino numbers to 2,000 over the next 10 years.

"Once we have 2,000 individuals, we will have established a population that will give us hope that we have brought them back from extinction," he said.

Kenyan officials say they have moved more than 150 rhinos in the last 10 years.

But not all moves have succeeded. One attempt to move 11 rhinos in 2018 ended with all of the animals dying.

An investigation found 10 of the rhinos died from stress, a lack of water and food that was made worse by salt poisoning. The animals could not get used to the salty water in their new home. Another animal was attacked by a lion.

Since then, new guidelines have been created for the capture and moving of rhinos in Kenya. Silvester said officials tested the water quality at Loisaba.

I'm Gregory Stachel.

Tom Odula and Desmond Tiro reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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conservation – n. the activity of aiming to protect animals, plants, and natural resources

park – n. a large area of public land kept in its natural state to protect plants and animals

tranquilize – v. to use a drug to cause (a person or animal) to become very relaxed and calm

extinction – n. when a specific kind of living thing dies out and disappears from the Earth

stress – n. a state of tension that, in animals, is connected with conditions that they do not normally face