(4 May 2018) LEADIN:
Six critically endangered black rhinos are being flown to Chad from South Africa.
Their translocation restores the species to the north-central African country decades after the animals were wiped out there
STORYLINE:
Moving rhinos 3,000-miles by airplane from South Africa to Chad was never going to be an easy task.
But six critically endangered black rhinos are being transported from a holding facility at Addo Elephant National Park, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape to Chad's Zakouma National Park, which lies south of the Sahara desert and north of Central African rainforests.
The critically endangered species was last seen in the landlocked African country in the late 1980s.
African Parks, a Johannesburg-based conservation group, organised the translocation to the Zakouma National Park, a reserve that it manages with the Chad government.
The group says the goal is to help the long-term survival of black rhinos and to restore biodiversity in Chad. It says there are fewer than 25,000 rhinos in the African wild, of which about 20 percent are black rhinos and the rest white rhinos.
Most of the rhinos are in South Africa, though the population has been hard hit by poachers supplying horns to an illegal Asian market.
The move is being carried out in conjunction with the South African National Parks (SANParks) service.
"South Africa now is home to 90 percent of the world's southern white rhinos and about 35 percent of the world's black rhinos. So we've got consolidated population, so populations that are doing well and that allows you to take some of those individuals of populations that are doing well and assist other parts in Africa to recover the populations that they may have lost or busy declining in these areas. And Chad is a wonderful example of how we are reintroducing rhino back into their historical rein, some black rhinos used to occur in that area, Zakouma National Park," explains Sam Ferreria, South African National Parks (SANParks) large mammal ecologist.
Mahamoud Bechir, Chad's ambassador to South Africa says he hopes the rhinos will help conservation efforts and boost his country's economy.
"You see, in Chad we have a programme of developing biodiversity in Chad. When you develop biodiversity, it contributes to the development of Chad, from the point of view of the economy and society. So there is an economic aspect and a social aspect. So, there isn't just a socio-economic aspect, there is the biodiversity of the region. So, we must ensure the safety of these animals. We have to bring them from other countries, so they can settle in Chad. So, there is an economic interests and a social interest, even international from the point of view of tourism."
David Zimmerman from SANParks Veterinarian Veterinary Wildlife Services says that moving these large wild creatures in relatively small crates by airplane is not easy.
African Parks say that Zakouma is now a safe haven for wildlife and extensive safety measures are in place to deter poachers.
Andrew Parker, Director of African Parks, says that it is great to see the project to restore black rhinos to Chad underway.
"So its wonderful to see months and months of hard work particularly in the last six months of getting all the logistics together to see these animals in the good condition that they in. It is a culmination of a lot of work, but we only just starting really in getting these animals to Chad, so today is a big day getting them onto the aeroplane and moving them across but very rewarding to be at this point."

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