Save the Rhino Trust

DESERT-ADAPTED RHINO RELOCATION PROGRAMME

Northwest Namibia is home to the largest free-ranging population of black rhinos in the world, and it is here, in the country’s rugged Kunene region, that we support a black rhino reintroduction programme. This involves relocating females in an attempt to help expand the breeding range of this critically endangered species. Because they are free-ranging, the monitoring and protection of these endangered animals requires a multi-faceted approach involving many stakeholders, one of them being Natural Selection. Working closely with our partner Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), founded by the late Blythe Loutit in 1982, we are helping to reduce threats to these animals through the long term surveillance in their new habitat.

SRT have managed the security of the desert adapted black rhino for decades and this range expansion programme requires their expertise and an expansion of their team. This includes engagement and empowerment of local people in rhino protection efforts, many of whom play a role in the ecotourism sector. Natural Selection’s founders pioneered SRT’s ecotourism partnership in 2003 with the late Blythe Loutit, the late Michael Hearn and SRT’s current CEO, Simson Uri-Khob. We remain committed to SRT’s mission and Natural Selection intends to sustain the monitoring of these reintroduced animals long into the future.