The birth of a rare Eastern Black Rhino at Yorkshire Wildlife Park has become the catalyst for a fund-raising campaign to save the endangered species.
The arrival of baby Rocco, who can be seen at the award-winning park’s rhino reserve, was a significant moment in the European breeding programme for the species whose numbers have dropped to below 1,000 in the wild.
His birth has sparked awareness in their plight and Wildlife Foundation is organising the appeal in his honour to provide vital funding for conservation projects in Africa.
The annual Curly’s Run for Wildlife 10K run gave the fund a fantastic £7,000 boost for the appeal in April and other initiatives including collections at ranger talks, are being planned at the park throughout the summer.
Ol Jogi Conservancy was established in 1980 and is one of the oldest conservancies in the Laikipia region in Kenya. Starting with an initial founder population of only four black rhinos and six white rhinos, the numbers have grown substantially over the years, and the Conservancy has become a stronghold for the Eastern black rhino subspecies. The programme has proven to be one of the most successful rhino breeding programmes in Kenya and has contributed many rhinos to the overall national population by helping to restock areas where rhino numbers were dwindling. Today, with a much bigger rhino population than before, Ol Jogi demonstrates what can be achieved through effective law enforcement, anti-poaching measures, monitoring and biological management, and a huge passion to preserve one of the most iconic species on Earth.
No rhinos were killed on Ol Jogi in 2023.
All funds raised will support the teams like the one at the Ol Jogi Conservancy, in Kenya, which operates across 58,000 acres providing a safe habitat for indigenous and critically endangered species.
It is home to a healthy population of 100 rhinos and runs an influential breeding programme as the species continues to face poaching threats, which devastated its numbers from 70,000 in the wild in 1970.
It is supported by the Foundation and has scored a number of successes including saving a calf that had been abandoned by its mother then attacked by predators. Bella remained in critical condition for many months, but made a full recovery and has now grown into a 226kg, healthy one-year-old who rangers hope to reintegrate into the wild population in two years’ time.