Protecting Rhinos

Our ground-based conservation partners in Namibia are thrilled to report over 30 months without poaching in the region. With our support, they continue to work hard protecting a vital population of desert-adapted black rhino distributed over a 25,000km² area. These rhinos form the largest rhino population to persist outside a formally protected area anywhere on the planet. Our teams’ regular patrols also ensure the safety of other threatened species in this region, thus increasing wildlife population numbers and biodiversity in the landscape.

Ongoing and long-term support from DSWF has enabled our partners to improve operations, increase patrol efforts, and provide vital support to communities whilst reducing poaching and improving ranger welfare. During the last 12 months, our partners have been able to embark on several new initiatives – encompassing community outreach, ranger welfare, and an expansion of the rhino ranger programme in a new landscape. These initiatives will remain the focus for 2023.

DSWF’s Chief Operating Officer, Roddy Hamblin, has recently returned from a project visit to Namibia and kindly shared the following on his experience, after spending a week with the rangers in the field.

“My initial comments after my week in Namibia, working alongside the conservation team on the ground, is just how difficult a terrain this is to operate in, let alone survive in if you are a large herbivore. At times I wondered whether the moon might be more hospitable than the Namibian desert.

At the end of another long period of drought, few springs remain (by which I mean small puddles), providing water to desert wildlife. This is resulting in more movement of rhinos and overlapping of previous territories. It has now been scientifically proven, albeit it is not known how it happens, that these desert-adapted black rhinos will increase fertility in years where more rain is anticipated, and indeed there are several new calves in the region, including one for Inka, DSWF’s rhino ambassador, which is exciting and promising.

The rhino rangers continue in their efforts to track, monitor, and record rhino sightings to keep abreast of the population numbers and movements, while also acting as a deterrent to would-be poachers through their presence. The ongoing success of the project is undoubtedly down to the efforts to give rhinos a positive financial value to the local communities. Employment, rhino sighting bonuses, and increased tourism are all bringing some income to an area very devoid of opportunity. Pride in the rhinos is continuing to be instilled through the educational outreach programme and it was heartening to hear of school children who aspired to one day become rhino rangers.

The opportunity to spend some time among these dedicated men and women who battle extreme climate and conditions every day to ensure the safety of this small but precious population of desert-adapted black rhinos, was humbling and inspiring. Most of all, the chance to see a large keystone species living successfully outside of the boundaries of a national park and under the protection of local people was a conservation career highlight, and a model that can provide a template for the successful reintroduction of endangered species back into former ranges.” - Roddy Hamblin, Chief Operating Officer, DSWF

With your support, we can continue to ensure this vital population of black rhino remain safe and protected.

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