Uganda welcomes a new baby rhino

A new male calf was born by Malaika at Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola district on Friday 5th February, 2021. This addition brings the total births at the sanctuary to 30 and the total number of rhinos at the sanctuary to 34 individuals. Many thanks to Rhino Fund Uganda and the Uganda government for a job well done. The effort is intended to reintroduce rhinos to Uganda’s wild. Rhinos got extinct from Uganda’s wild in the 1980s.

World Rhino Day

Today around 27,000 rhinos remain in the wild. Very few rhinos survive outside national parks and game reserves. Some species of rhinos are among the world’s most endangered animals. Rhinos are threatened by habitat loss and poaching. However, poaching which is driven by consumer demand for the rhino horn primarily in Asia, is the biggest threat to rhinos. Rhino horns are used as symbols of pride and high-value gift items by wealthy individuals in Asian nations.

Despite, the ban on international trade in rhino horn under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), the demand for rhino horn has remained high. Rhino poaching levels hit a record high in 2015 when poachers slaughtered over 1,000 rhinos in Africa.

It is up to us to save the rhinos! Let’s speak out for them.

Uganda welcomes a new baby rhino

On August 2nd, 2020 Rhoda, a female baby rhino was born by a white rhino called Laloyo at Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary located in Nakasongola district in Uganda. This latest addition brings the total number of rhinos at the sanctuary to 31.

Back in the 1960s, black and white rhinos were widespread in Uganda. However, Uganda’s population of white and black rhinos were wiped out in the early 1980s due to poaching. The last rhino was seen in Uganda’s wild in 1983. The period between the 1970s and mid-1980s was characterized by turmoil and civil unrest that turned Uganda’s national game parks into battlefields and hence increased poaching. It was in the 1990s when the Uganda Rhino Fund was formed for the breeding of rhinos with a goal of reintroducing them back into the wild.

Poaching is real and it seriously threatens the survival of wildlife species. As a result of poaching, many wildlife species in Africa have become highly endangered while others have totally extinct. It is only a collective effort that will help to make the world a safe place for animals.