From a population of approximately 10,000 eastern black rhino in 1970, there are less than 1,000 left in the world today. Singita Grumeti, a 142,000-hectare protected area in the Western Serengeti in Tanzania, has seen a significant reduction in poaching thanks to the Grumeti Fund's dedicated anti-poaching efforts, which include a special operations task team of highly-skilled individuals, an intelligence gathering unit, mobile patrols, a canine unit and an airwing.

The calf's birth represents the culmination of years of hard work, strategic partnerships and the technical ability to successfully relocate black rhino over long distances to new habitats. Since its inception in 2002, the Grumeti Fund's main goal has been to return eastern black rhino to the Western Serengeti, thereby establishing a founder population that contributes to the genetic pool and bolsters the greater Serengeti-Mara ecosystem's rhino population.

Fight back against poaching

In the 1970s rampant poaching decimated numbers by 99 per cent and some animals were removed from East Africa, with the intention of saving the species and returning them to their rightful home. In 2019 nine black rhino from an out-of-range population in South Africa were shipped back to Tanzania. After a few months acclimatising in rhino bomas (enclosures), they were successfully released in November last year. Lindiwe - meaning "awaited" - one of the females relocated from South Africa, has given birth to her first calf and the pair are thriving under the watchful eye of the aerial and ground teams.

Executive Director of the Grumeti Fund, Stephen Cunliffe, hopes that a few more calves will be born. "The speed at which their numbers are rebounding is very encouraging," he said. "There have been hardships along the way, but it's all worth the significant effort and investments of donor funding because, at this point, the population is increasing."

Plans to translocate the next group of black rhino to Grumeti in 2020 have been derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the next phase will take place in 2021. The steady growth of the new satellite population at Singita Grumeti is essential to their future survival.

Key players

Singita is a conservation and ecotourism brand that has been helping to preserve Africa's wildlife and wilderness for the past 27 years, offering guests exceptional safari experiences at 15 luxury, award-winning lodges and camps across four countries. In partnership with non-profit funds and trusts that implement strategic conservation projects in each region, Singita's 100-year purpose is to preserve and protect large parts of African wilderness for future generations.

The Grumeti Fund is a non-profit organization carrying out wildlife conservation and community development work in the western corridor of the Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania. Its vision is a world in which people and wildlife live together sustainably, forever. Today 165 dedicated staff protect, manage and monitor the Grumeti concession where the near-barren plains of 15 years ago teem with wildlife once more.

www.singita.com

www.grumetifund.org​