Coastweek – Kenya www.coastweek.com
OL PEJECTA ORGANISING SINGLE LARGEST RHINO TRANSLOCATION
Coastweek - - Ol Pejeta Conservancy hold a breeding
population of 79 black rhino; the largest breeding
population of black rhino in East Africa.
EACH RHINO WILL BE FITTED WITH A RADIO TRANSMITTER EMBEDDED INTO THE HORN
Coastweek - - On the 1sth of February the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the Kenya Wildlife Services and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy will commence the single biggest rhino translocation ever undertaken in East Africa.
In total 34 black rhino will be translocated, four from Ol Jogi to Ol Pejeta, four from Solio to Ol Jogi and 26 from Solio to Ol Pejeta.
Solio Rhino Sanctuary is one of the most successful rhino sanctuaries in Kenya; with a population of over 80 black rhinos it carries the largest single black rhino population in East Africa.
Initially stocked with 23 black rhinos in the early 1970s, Solio has so far bred more than 100 rhinos, many of which have been translocated to other sanctuaries within the country.
Indeed most of the successful rhino sanctuaries in Kenya were initially established with a founder population from Solio.
Currently Solio has a surplus of over 30 black rhino; these will be translocated to Ol Pejeta and Ol Jogi where recent expansion programmes have created the opportunity to further expand their existing populations.
It is important to regularly remove rhinos from overstocked sanctuaries to maximize breeding rates and maintain adequate food resources.
The translocation will be run by two teams, one headed by Richard Moller and the other by Ian Craig, each with a KWS vet and 10 capture staff.
Each team will use an aircraft to help find the animals identified as candidates for translocation.
Once immobilized, each rhino will be fitted with a radio transmitter embedded into the horn and then loaded into a custom built box for transport to either Ol Pejeta or Ol Jogi.
On reaching their destination the rhinos will be "free released" and left to establish a new home range, a process that will be intensively monitored from the outset, both from the air and on the ground.
