Environmental News Network - After Nearly a Decade of Declines, Africa’s White Rhino Population Is Growing

Details: By Yale Environment 360; 22.Sep

White rhinos saw their numbers grow for the first time since 2012 last year, boosted by efforts to restore the creatures to the African landscape.

Cheryl Porter

White rhinos saw their numbers grow for the first time since 2012 last year, boosted by efforts to restore the creatures to the African landscape.

White rhinos now total 16,803, according to a tally from the International Union for Conservation of Nature released Friday, World Rhino Day. Black rhinos also saw their ranks swell, and now number 6,487. Together, the population of both white and black rhinos grew by more than 5 percent last year.

Michael Knight, who leads the IUCN rhino group, welcomed the news. However, he said, “it is imperative to further consolidate and build upon this positive development and not drop our guard.” Poaching continues to bedevil African rhinos, with 561 killed illegally last year, largely in South Africa.

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After Nearly a Decade of Declines, Africa’s White Rhino Population Is Growing