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Published 19 September 2024

As the world comes together to celebrate World Rhino Day 2024, the grim reality of poaching continues to threaten all five rhino species, with a troubling rise in regions once untouched by this threat. Despite their imposing size and armour-like skin, black rhinos remain tragically vulnerable to poachers. The statistics say it all: between 1970 and 1992, an astounding 96% of black rhinos vanished, leaving only around 2,400 individuals struggling to survive in the wild.

Yet amidst these challenges, hope is alive, and meaningful progress is being made. From the sun-drenched plains of Kenya to the rugged mountains of Nepal, we are proud to support innovative and proven technologies alongside community-led conservation efforts, offering a powerful combination to protect and rejuvenate rhino populations and the ecosystems they sustain.

1. Loisaba Conservancy home to new rhino sanctuary

Loisaba Conservancy has established a new Rhino Sanctuary, now home to 21 reintroduced eastern black rhinos. The rhinos’ arrival completes the "Big Five" at Loisaba, increasing Rhino rangelands, boosting tourism, creating jobs, and supporting local community projects. Supported by advanced technology, including LoRa gateways and sensors, real-time rhino monitoring, people power and cloud-infrastructure technology are helping ensure the rhinos' safe integration.  

2. Sabi Sand Nature Reserve has gone big on rhino rewilding

In June, thirty-two southern white rhinos embarked on a journey to the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, a private sanctuary nestled within the vast Greater Kruger system. This monumental relocation celebrated as one of the most ambitious rewilding efforts of its kind, forms part of the visionary "Rhino Rewild" initiative. Spearheaded by African Parks, the program aspires to relocate 2,000 southern white rhinos to protected areas across Africa over the next decade. The recent arrival at Sabi Sand bolsters its existing population, a crucial step toward preserving this iconic species, whose numbers in the Greater Kruger and Limpopo transfrontier areas have plummeted—from around 10,600 in 2011 to fewer than 2,000 by the close of 2022, largely due to relentless poaching.

Safeguarding these newly homed rhinos is an innovative, mature technological landscape. This virtual fence, composed of networked security cameras, LoRaWan solutions, analytics, and a host of monitoring tools, acts as an invisible sentry. This system generates automated alerts whenever a human crosses the reserve’s boundaries, enabling rapid response teams to protect these vulnerable giants from poachers and other threats.

3. ZSL using satellite imagery to boost rhino habitat management in Nepal

We're supporting the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) in using advanced 30cm Pleiadés Neo satellite data, donated by the Airbus Foundation, to optimise grassland management for the greater one-horned rhino in Nepal. Innovative field surveys and machine learning are being used to ensure the sustainability of these critical habitats, which house almost all of Nepal’s rhinos, as well as its largest populations of tigers and Asian elephants.

4. Sera Community Conservancy drives rhino boom

At Sera Community Conservancy, the rhino population has surged by 60%, thanks to community-driven conservation initiatives. The Conservancy, a member of Northern Rangelands Trust,  has also employed 100 new community rangers, providing jobs and empowering locals to protect their natural heritage. The reserve is also generating revenue for community development priorities, including the provision of education bursaries and access to clean water.

High-resolution Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras have been installed at six critical watering holes, facilitating continuous rhino monitoring. These high-resolution RGB cameras capture such vivid imagery that rangers can now easily track the health of individual rhinos from the control room over 100 km away.

5. Madikwe Game Reserve’s successful poaching arrests

Madikwe Futures has achieved remarkable success assisting with 16 suspected rhino poachers arrested between 2021 and 2023—a striking improvement from 2020 when zero arrests were made. This success stems from a synergy of cutting-edge technology and vigilant community involvement. The reserve has harnessed the power of landscape-scale connectivity, using LoRaWAN networks to gather and transmit vital data from strategic points across its vast expanse.

Thermal cameras watch along the reserve’s perimeter, detecting and deterring intruders. This stream of information converges in a central control room, where Madikwe’s security and conservation teams monitor the landscape in real-time, transforming data into decisive action. Overhead, satellite imagery donated by the Airbus Foundation provides a sweeping "eye in the sky" to monitor the health of their habitat. 

6. Birdies4Rhinos: A growing team for rhino conservation

The bond between sports and conservation grows stronger through our partnership with Birdies4Rhinos. International golfers are raising funds and awareness for rhino projects by donating for every birdie they score. Welcome to the new players joining the cause, including Tommy Fleetwood, Ewen Ferguson, and April Angurasaranee. Special congratulations to Niklas Norgaard for leading the 2023 leaderboard with the most birdies scored!

Despite these incredible milestones, one rhino is still killed every 15 hours.

We must act with urgency, building on this progress and using every tool available. By uniting cutting-edge technology, dedicated rhino protection teams, and the strength of community engagement, we have the power to turn the tide.

Together with our partners, we are proud to help design and implement the technical infrastructure, training, and long-term support needed to sustain these critical efforts.

Please donate to CCF today, and help us equip even more field teams to safeguard these majestic creatures—before they disappear forever.