80 rhinos are set to fly to Australia over the next four years in an effort to save the threatened species.
This mission is the first of its kind for the world’s conservation efforts. The project will cost $70,000 USD per rhino and require each animal to spend several months in quarantine under the supervision of the South African and Australian Departments of Agriculture.
More than a million of the iconic animals once roamed the African Savannah. Today the white rhino population is estimated at about 20,000, while the black rhino is in even more trouble – with only about 5,000 remaining.
Since 2008, poachers have killed 5,940 African Rhinos.
Rhino horn is a highly valued product in Asian medicine. It is believed to cure a range of ailments. The going rate for one rhino horn and be up to $500,000. This growing demand and high payout rate is leading to a devastating increase of poaching.
Despite intensive conservation efforts, poaching of this iconic species is dramatically increasing, pushing the remaining rhinos closer and closer towards extinction.
By the end of 2015, the number of African rhinos killed by poachers had increased for the sixth year in a row with at least 1,338 rhinos killed by poachers across Africa that year.
The Australian Rhino project was founded in 2013, by South African-born Australian Ray Dearlove. His goal is to establish a breeding herd of black and white rhinos in Australia.
The rhinos will be able to be reintroduced to Africa once the threat of poaching decreases.
Six white-ear rhinos, five bulls and one female, have finally been approved for relocation this August after years of fundraising, working with governments, and establishing connections with Australian wildlife parks.
“It’s been a pretty exciting ride for the last three years,” Ray said. “It’s now building up – I think we are close to achieving the first of our objectives – it’s full on, but it’s exciting.”
Although this initiative is a gigantic step in the right direction for conservation efforts, the plan does come with a bit of caution.
Dr. Roan Plotz, who holds a PhD in black rhinos, praises the initiative and believes tackling the extraordinary poaching crisis requires out-of-the-box approaches such as the Australian Rhino Project. However, he cautions that the success of the project will be determined by both time and money.
“I think new ideas are absolutely needed to tackle the poaching crisis and make no mistake with the Australian Rhino Project – while a great idea and I applaud their efforts – there is no guarantee that it will ensure the survival of rhino, even if it becomes the last viable population,” said Roan.
There are a lot of issues when it comes to the project, including breeding success and upon reintroduction to Africa, predators, starvation and intra-specific competition, in which members of the same species compete for limited resources.
Ray Dearlove stressed that this initiative is not the be all end all solution to saving the species. Instead it is just one strategy that can work towards the conservation of rhinos.
“I know that six is not going to change the world, but it’s at least six that won’t be killed,” he said, adding that the first six will be the test that the rhinos can be relocated safely.
After the first six rhinos are settled in Australia, another 74 will be flown in over the next four years.
But why Australia? Is it a ‘low key’ luxury spa get-away?
Well, yea. It pretty much is!
Although nowhere is 100% safe for the animals, Ray said he believes Australia’s strong border-security, the lack of comparable poverty and poaching-free history will make it a much safer option.
Australia also offers a home-away-from-home atmosphere for the mammals. A similar climate and habitat to Africa, Australia has vegetation with the potential to be used as browse, a lack of diseases and parasites that the animals would normally be exposed to, and protection from poaching.
Roan commented on Australia as a sanctuary for the rhinos saying, “Australia has abundant safety, land, resources (money, people) and is outside of the traditional poaching syndicate links. Also, Australia will be harder and not as viable of an option for syndicates to set up and travel to target one population.”
While this project is not necessarily a long term solution, it is a viable and proactive plan to refurbish the African rhino population; with the hopes that the demand for rhino horn (and thus demand for poaching) in countries like Vietnam and China will be extinguished in the meantime.
So for now, wish those 80 rhinos a relaxing and sensational spa retreat!