Black Rhino Custodianship: How Namibia saved it's Black Rhino Herd

Black Rhino in the rocky arid deserts of Southern Namibia

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Black Rhino (Diceros Bicornis) was the most common rhino species on the planet, with several hundred thousand of these animals spread over the majority of Sub-Saharan Africa, from dry forests of Niger & Mali to the cape of South Africa. As was the fate of all rhinos across the world, their populations collapsed to just a few thousand animals, driven to the brink by rampant poaching, unselective hunting, habitat destruction and competition with livestock owners.

So when the then-young nation of Namibia set out in 1993 to bring this giant back from the brink, the odds were stacked against them. But somehow, they pulled it off. Today, Namibia is one of the few countries in the world with a growing Black Rhino population that's expanding in range and has been so successful with preserving this species, that they've started exporting excess animals to neighbouring African nations. But how exactly did they do it? Well here is that story.

The Population Lows of 1993

Group of Black Rhinos. Despite their reputation, the species is remarkably social.

After only recently becoming an independent nation in 1990, Namibia had a problem with its Black Rhino population. Over the past 100 years, the vast majority of their herds had been wiped out by poaching, unsustainable hunting, and competition with livestock farmers, leaving only around 300 animals within the nation's largest national parks, mostly within Etosha and Waterberg Plateau, national parks. And whilst it was a challenge enough to protect these remaining animals, there wasn't enough available room within state-protected areas to facilitate the considerable population increase the species needed.

But at the same time, there was a significant expansion in the private wildlife tourism and hunting industries, where conservation-minded landowners were preserving huge tracts of land to promote an abundance of wildlife. In turn, this created an expansion of quality habitat for rhinos to return to, especially if each reserve could invest in protecting the animals they hold. This combination of fates led to the creation of Vision 2030, which aimed to restore thriving populations of Black Rhinos to all three of the country's land tenure systems (state land, communal conservancies and private land), in an effort to utilize all available habitat within it's borders.

To do so, breeding animals from the nation's remaining herds were relocated to private lands and community conservancies that meet strict standards. Reserves have to cover at least 10,000 hectares, have fences designed to keep rhinos from escaping (with exceptions), and the landowners must be willing to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. Other factors such as the reserve's habitat quality, water availability, topography and even its proximity to roads and towns are all taken into account. After an assessment by MET officials and the Protected Resources division of the Namibian Police, properties are compared and weighted on a scorecard, to be used to "score" the suitability of a reserve.

Taking care of a critically endangered species such as Black Rhinos is far from easy though. As per the terms of the agreement, reserve managers were obligated to constantly monitor their health and wellbeing, providing additional food and water resources when needed (a common occurrence in Namibia's arid deserts), and must report any sick, injured, or deceased animals under their care. But the goal was that the tourism benefits of having rhinos on the private reserves and community concessions is great enough that the burden of protection was financially worth it. And with that, the Black Rhino Custodian Program (BRCP) was born.

Populations on the rise:

A orphaned black rhino calf at Mt Etjo Safari Lodge, a particularly successful member of the Namibian Rhino Custodianship Program.

The first 6 rhinos were translocated from the population stronghold of Etosha National Park in 1993, with another 5 leaving in 1994, reintroducing rhinos to around 29,300 hectares (72,400 acres), a massive win for a species on the brink. In 2004, the first community conservancies joined the fold, and in the years following 2006, several other conservancies in the remote Kunene region of Namibia. In 2009, the MET boldly moved to establish two rhino populations in the incredibly arid southern Namibia, namely in the Fish River and Orange River Conservancies, on the edge of their historic range.

These new populations faced numerous challenges, especially those animals introduced to the Fish & Orange River concessions. The extreme aridity of the landscape meant that the main food source, the toxic to humans euphorbias gergaria plants was the primary food source. The challenge was that the Etosha source population had zero exposure to this plant, hence there were serious concerns about whether they could thrive in such habitats. Extreme droughts also impact the region for years at a time, with below-average rainfall putting cows with calves at serious risk. At present, these populations are provided with supplementary Lucerne hay feed, and all relocated undergo acclimation in a boma, to become adjusted to artificial feed.

These southern populations have had mixed success, mostly because of the extreme droughts the region is experiencing at present. The orange river herd died out for that reason, but the fish river herd has since thrived, growing to over 11 animals so far, with plenty of room to grow. Proving that black rhinos can survive in habitats like these significantly increases the scope of potential habitats in the country. Not only that, but these arid habitats are also home to significantly fewer people, which reduces the risk of poaching.

27 years after the first rhinos were relocated, the BRCP program now hosts around 710 animals (560 on private land and 150 on conservancies) spread over 35 land units, an 8.58 million acres of habitat. By all definitions, it’s a huge success, with the program now making up over one-third of the nation’s black rhinos, and more animals than all of those in Botswana, Tanzania, and Mozambique combined. Whilst most other countries have struggled to just maintain their remaining herds, Namibia leveraged the private wildlife tourism industry, to maximize the availability of habitat, and give black rhinos the room they need to grow.

A Far from Stable Future:

Whilst black rhinos have recovered leaps and bounds from the lows of the 1990s, their fate is far from sealed. You see, over 30 years of Namibian rhino conservation have benefited from the fact they inhabited such remote areas of the country, in such inhospitable terrain, that it's shielded them from poachers. Meanwhile, across the rest of the Black & White Rhino's historic range, populations are much usually closer to human settlements, meaning that hiding protected populations from the public is near impossible, leaving them vulnerable to poaching.

But, much has changed in 30 years. In the eyes of the poachers, much of the "easy pickings" in neighbouring countries have already been poached, and sadly it seems like Namibia is now becoming an increasing poaching hotspot, both from local poachers and international poaching gangs. Between 2021 & 202, poaching rates doubled from 45 to 87 animals, a 93% increase in just one year. Whilst the bulk of these poached animals came out of Etosha National Park, a considerable number of black rhinos (15) were taken from private custodianship farms, along with 25 southern white rhinos that often share many Namibian private reserves. Whilst this loss is still less than 5% of the nation's total rhinos and won't result in their extinction in Namibia over the long term, it could easily spiral out of control (like how neighbouring Botswana lost 140 animals, around 40% of their national herd in 2018), and needs further attention.

The problem with preventing rhino poaching, particularly when facing up against organized crime gangs with international ties fueling their efforts, is that is it expensive. To protect even a modestly sized reserve, it takes a whole team of armed guards, tracking dogs, vehicles for rangers to carry out patrols, and an entire collection of other technology. And even then, it's no guarantee that zero rhinos will be poached from a reserve. And whilst already established revenue sources like sustainable hunting & ecotourism operations can certainly go a long way to help fund such protections, it's often just not enough. This is a big reason why many reserve managers are advocating for the legalization of the Rhino Horn Trade.

Horns & Hunts:

It's a controversial idea, but a legal horn trade could be highly effective. You see, many reserves already remove the horns from their rhinos, as a way to deter poachers from killing animals that have no value to them. The current practice is to destroy the horns by burning them, but if an incredibly well-regulated legalized industry was able to record each horn removal from its source rhino, track its transport to markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and then sell it through an approved vendor, then it could be revolutionary. With a single horn selling for $20,000 USD per kg (and around 4kg per horn), the money could be a huge help to reserves, but of course, it comes with a significant risk of illegally sourced horns filtering into the market.

Another lucrative funding option on offer is the hunting of old rhino bulls. Once rhino bulls lose dominance within their territory, their role in reproduction becomes largely suppressed, meaning that selective harvest of these animals has little to no impact on the reproduction rates of the wider herd. In fact, these subordinate rhinos often end up leaving their core range, an act that increases their exposure to poaching along the borders of a reserve. This makes the harvest of these animals a best-case scenario, where a hunter can pay top dollar (up to $350,000 USD in some instances) for a single tag, whilst having minimal impact on the wider population. Also, when compared to the international horn trade, it's a lot easier for governments to effectively regulate since the hunt occurs within their borders, and they have retained ownership of the nation's entire population. However, ensuring that this harvest remains sustainable (which means a harvest rate of just 1-2% of the national population) limits the total funding potential of this revenue stream.

Beyond Black Rhinos?

The success of the Black Rhino Custodianship program in Namibia proves that including the private ecotourism and hunting industry in Rhino conservation is a highly successful tactic. Not only does it greatly expand the potential habitat area of the species, but it also unburdens government regulatory bodies from much of the funding, whilst allowing private reserves to benefit from the presence of rhinos. But the question remains, if the program has been so successful for black rhinos, could it work for some of the other species in peril across the continent?

The easiest assumption is that white rhinos could thrive under a similar arrangement, and that's certainly true. White rhinos already share custodian lands with black rhinos across Namibia, and whilst it would be incredibly difficult for a nation to take full legal control of these privately owned animals, government-owned herds sourced from national parks could be used in a similar manner. The same conservation policies could also be used to help expand populations of African bush elephants that currently overpopulate government owned lands across areas of South Africa, Botswana or Namibia. The tactic of retaining control of a threatened species whilst also allowing private landowners to benefit from their presence could have wide-reaching impacts for several of Africa's iconic megafauna.

Faunus aims to work closely with as many landowners & reserve managers as possible to ensure the future of black rhinos across Southern Africa. By measuring the conservation and economic success of reintroduction programs, we can use this data to better inform the wider conservation industry, as well as to implement our own programs. Follow along closely, because we'll be diving deep into many other rhino-related conservation issues in future articles.