Black rhino: Back from the brink

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Sporting two impressive horns, the black rhino, which weighs up to 1,350 kilograms (3,000 pounds), isn’t really black at all. Much like the “white” rhino, it’s a muddy-gray color.

As the story goes, English settlers in South Africa mistook the Afrikaans word “wyd” (meaning “wide” in English), used to describe the mouth shape of the larger of the two rhinos, for the English word “white.” So, naturally, black was then used to refer its smaller, pointier-lipped relative. Or, others suggest the name reflects the dark color it turns after a muddy wallow.

Consistent hunting and land clearance throughout the early and mid 20th century reduced the black rhino population to an estimated 100,000 by 1960. In the following decades, large-scale poaching intensified, causing a 98% collapse in population size, with total numbers reaching an all-time low of 2,354 in the mid 1990s.

This prompted drastic and concerted conservation efforts across several African countries to help save the critically endangered species. A ban on black rhino trade, the expansion and stricter protection of their home ranges, and relocation programs involving unusual methods, have resulted in a remarkable recovery. According to the IUCN, 6,421 black rhinos were recorded across the continent in 2024.

Unlike the white rhino, which grazes on grass and low-lying vegetation, the black rhino uses its hooked upper lip to feed on leaves which it plucks from bushes and trees. Black rhinos live in semi-desert savannah, shrublands, forests and wetlands across southern and eastern Africa, with the biggest populations in Namibia, South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Here, a black rhino at Frankfurt Zoo in Germany nibbles on oak twigs.

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The black rhino’s most defining characteristic, its mighty horns, have ultimately led to its decline. Despite possessing no proven health benefits, rhino horn has been used for millennia in Traditional Chinese medicine to treat a host of physical and mental conditions – from fever and gout to hallucinations and headaches. The horns are also seen as a status symbol in some cultures, and have been used to make ornaments such as bowls or bangles. A group of black rhinos, also known as a crash, is seen here at a the Shamwari Private Game Reserve in South Africa.

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Black rhinos were listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix 1 in 1977, meaning that all trade of this species was internationally prohibited. Following this, several early conservation programs were initiated to protect black rhinos across Africa. In the late 1980s, Zimbabwe’s government established Intensive Protection Zones, where anti-poaching resources were concentrated to protect the highest-density black rhino populations. Similarly, the Association of Private Land Rhino Sanctuaries (APLRS) was set up in Kenya in 1990 to protect rhinos living on private and community lands.

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More recent conservation initiatives have involved relocating groups of black rhinos to create new populations where the ancestral one has died out. The Black Rhino Range Expansion Project (BRREP), for example, was founded in 2003 and is a partnership between the WWF, state conservation organizations and local landowners in southern and eastern Africa. This flagship organization adopted a method of airlifting the rhinos by helicopter when translocating them over tough terrain, refining the technique over time. Early methods involved loading rhinos into nets or crates, suspended below a helicopter – however, the team found that the crates swung dangerously and the nets put undue pressure on the rhino’s body. Here, a rhino peeks through a hole in its shipping crate, as it is translocated between conservancies in Kenya.

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In 2012, the BRREP team decided to trial a new technique which they coined the “flying rhino.” It involved <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/17/world/rhino-airlift-upside-down-hnk-spc-intl/index.html">suspending a rhino upside down</a>, tethered to a helicopter by its feet. Though this may look ridiculous, it takes significantly less time and requires far fewer people than loading a rhino into a crate or net: minimizing costs and time spent under anaesthetic. A <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/jwd/article/57/2/357/451340/THE-PULMONARY-AND-METABOLIC-EFFECTS-OF-SUSPENSION" target="_blank">2021 study</a> even revealed that hanging completely upside down boosted blood oxygen levels. This photo shows one of six rhinos airlifted out of the Ithala Game Reserve in South Africa in 2013.

In 2012, the BRREP team decided to trial a new technique which they coined the “flying rhino.” It involved suspending a rhino upside down, tethered to a helicopter by its feet. Though this may look ridiculous, it takes significantly less time and requires far fewer people than loading a rhino into a crate or net: minimizing costs and time spent under anaesthetic. A 2021 study even revealed that hanging completely upside down boosted blood oxygen levels. This photo shows one of six rhinos airlifted out of the Ithala Game Reserve in South Africa in 2013.

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Other conservation initiatives have focused on engaging <a href="https://www.savetherhino.org/what-we-do/involving-communities/" target="_blank">local communities</a>, to inspire them to protect their wildlife. The two rhinos pictured are seen at the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/world/africa/earthranger-track-wildlife-kenya-spc/index.html">Sera Rhino Sanctuary</a> in Kenya, which was established in 2015 with the transfer of 10 black rhinos from other parts of the country. Working alongside the Kenyan Wildlife Service, this was the first time a local community in East Africa was responsible for the protection and management of a black rhino population, according to the charity <a href="https://www.savetherhino.org/our-work/protecting-rhinos/rhinos-return-to-samburu/" target="_blank">Save the Rhino</a>.

Other conservation initiatives have focused on engaging local communities, to inspire them to protect their wildlife. The two rhinos pictured are seen at the Sera Rhino Sanctuary in Kenya, which was established in 2015 with the transfer of 10 black rhinos from other parts of the country. Working alongside the Kenyan Wildlife Service, this was the first time a local community in East Africa was responsible for the protection and management of a black rhino population, according to the charity Save the Rhino.

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This picture from 2018 shows a black rhino in a holding sanctuary, being reintroduced to Zakouma National Park in Chad – the first time the species had been seen in the country since it was declared extinct in 1972. A 2024 study estimates that without any conservation measures, the population of African black rhinos would have dipped below 300 individuals in 2022. The authors also predict that there will be almost 9,000 black rhinos in 2032 if conservation interventions are maintained. This highlights the importance of sustaining efforts to expand black rhino habitats, continue relocation programs and ensure effective protection of population ranges.

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