World Rhino Day: Less than 27,000 of the giant animals remain in the wild

As the international community marks World Rhino Day on Tuesday, this year’s theme is “Keep the Five Alive”, highlighting the fragile status of the surviving species in Africa and Asia.

Experts say while there has been some success in protecting the prehistoric-looking giants, fewer than 27,000 remain.

Africa is home to two of the species – white and black rhinos – the latter listed as critically endangered with less than 7,000 in the wild.

A World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa project recently successfully relocated 20 of them to Botswana, doubling the population there.

In recent years, the country has come under poaching pressure, particularly in the Okavango Delta.

Since 2003, the WWF’s Black Rhino Expansion Programme has successfully created 18 new populations across South Africa, Malawi, and now Botswana.

The southern white rhino is listed as near threatened with close to 16,000 remaining, a major success story after dropping to fewer than 100 individuals in the late 19th century.

Only two northern white rhino remain, both female, at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya and are protected around the clock.

Most at threat are the critically endangered Javan and Sumatran rhinos found in Indonesia and Sumatra, while the greater one-horned rhino in Indian and Nepal remains vulnerable.

Rhinos are not just impressive animals to spot on safari. As large herbivores, they play a role in shaping the ecosystems around them.

Their feeding habits open up dense bush and create pathways. This lets sunlight in and helps smaller plants and other animals thrive.

Rhino dung also contributes nutrients to ecosystems and can help disperse seeds.