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Today is World Rhino Day!

Did you know that today is World Rhino Day? As the survival of the rhino continues to be threatened by the scourge of poaching in South Africa, luxury experiential travel company &Beyond has confirmed that one of the three female rhinos translocated from South Africa to Botswana earlier this year is pregnant and due to give birth in October / November. Rhino In 2012 alone, South Africa lost a devastating 668 rhino to illegal poaching, which is a 49% increase from the previous year’s figure of 448. With two to three rhino killed every day, by the beginning of September 2013 the number already stood at 618 individuals lost. With neighbouring Botswana proven as a successful rhino habitat with a strong security and monitoring framework in place, one of the initiatives undertaken by &Beyond was the donation and translocation of six white rhino from South Africa to BotswanaÂ’s Okavango Delta. Working under the strictest security, the six rhino were safely transported to Botswana and held in an acclimatisation boma before being released in May. Collared and microchipped for research and monitoring purposes, the animals are tracked regularly by &BeyondÂ’s research and anti-poaching teams. All six of the released animals appear to be establishing home ranges in their new habitat, with the areas frequented by four of the new arrivals overlapping with each other. The rhino have remained in the same pairs that they established while in the acclimatisation boma. The animals are healthy and are settling well into their new environment.

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.

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2 Comments

  1. One can not help but wonder why illegal poachers are bent into destroying the beautiful nature that Africa has been blessed with. We can only hope that the many organizations who have taken this issue upon themselves succeed into saving this wonderful creatures from becoming completely extinct. However we all have to play our part.

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