Protecting Rhinos

David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) have been proud protectors of rhinos since our inception in 1984. We continue today to fight for rhinos across Africa and Asia thanks to your generous support.

Africa - Namibia

The continued presence of more than 20 ground-based ranger teams, in the region under protection in northern Namibia, has continued to keep poaching at bay. The rangers, some of whom are directly funded by DSWF, covered an astounding 53,474 km (more than once around the Earth’s circumference) on foot in the past year – far surpassing the project’s targets for the year. Monitoring and surveillance has confirmed that as the number of regular patrols increased, poaching decreased. The overall number of poaching incidents has dropped by close to 80% compared to the previous 5-year period.

Our partners have trained and equipped five new rhino rangers to conduct monitoring patrols in a different and additional area. Our partner’s expansion into the Nyae Nyae conservancy now means they are protecting an additional 4,000km². Much of this land is very sparsely populated by humans and contains ideal habitat and resources for rhino, with plenty of browse and fresh water. We are hopeful that this expansion project will significantly aid with the recovery of the critically endangered black rhino.

In addition to the new ranger team, a new education team will be based in the area to work closely with communities and provide a reading programme. 11 teachers from Nyae Nyae have been trained in hosting the reading programme ’reading with rhinos’ – which has proven to be extremely successful across the region’s other areas over the past few years. These teachers will work at seven local schools in the Nyae Nyae conservancy, positively impacting over 250 children.

A new ranger welfare programme is yielding good results and is well received by staff and rangers. The programme has now trained over 70 rhino rangers and staff in basic first aid. This important initiative also provides rangers with medical support whilst in the field. This is done by providing fully stocked first aid kits and basic first aid training, and access to a doctor who conducts health screening for rangers.

Asia

DSWF funding has provided field equipment and fuel support to 253 members of village defence patrols working in rhino and tiger bearing areas in Assam. No rhinos were poached in Assam in the whole of 2022, a fantastic achievement. But sadly, one rhino was killed by a poacher in Kaziranga National Park earlier this year.

Using sniffer dogs has proven to be an effective conservation method in apprehending poachers and acting as a deterrent. Our funding for our partners in India allows them to deploy several K9 Unit dogs who accompany rangers on patrols. The K9 unit has recently expanded, with the addition of two new K9 dogs (Nova and Harley) who have spent the last 12 months undergoing intensive training. Nova has now been fully deployed into the field with handler Dhrubajyoti, and Harley will follow her into the field soon. 

41 ‘Rhino and Tiger Goes to School’ days took place in Assam, reaching a total of 6,020 children. Two longer and more intensive education activities also took place, with the aim of giving participating children in-depth knowledge of conservation and the importance of wildlife. One Nature Camp also took place – a three day long residential camp for 300 students which involved classroom-based activities as well as nature walks and safaris. A summer Nature Camp was also held – an immersive 25-day programme in the school holidays, which all the attending students enjoyed.

With your support, we can continue to protect rhinos across Africa and Asia.