Star Metro - 70 South African white rhinos to be relocated to Rwanda

The animals, which can weigh up to two tonnes, are set to travel some 3,400 kilometres (2,100 miles) to their new home in Akagera National Park.

"This event marks a key milestone in rhino conservation and showcases our collective efforts to protect and sustainably manage Akagera National Park," the park said in a statement.

Once plentiful across sub-Saharan Africa, white rhino suffered first from hunting by European settlers, and later a poaching epidemic that largely wiped them out.

According to the International Rhino Foundation (IRF), rhino poaching in Africa rose by four percent from 2022 to 2023, with at least 586 poached in 2023.

The southern white rhino, one of two subspecies, is now listed as "near threatened", with about 17,000 individuals remaining, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The northern white rhino has all but vanished, with only two females left alive.

Scientists are attempting to save the species from extinction by harvesting eggs from the younger of the two animals, Fatu, and using sperm from two deceased males to create embryos in an unprecedented breeding programme, the subspecies' last chance at survival.

Rwanda, which is positioning itself as a top safari destination, received 30 white rhinos in 2021 in the same park.

The population of white rhino is on the rise in South Africa despite poaching, according to IRF.

The transfer aims to support their population growth and secure a new breeding stronghold in Rwanda.

F.T. Michaud--SMC