There are more white rhinos on private land in South Africa than there are rhino in the whole of the rest of Africa.
Live sales, limited sport hunting, and ecotourism have historically provided incentives which have resulted in a significant expansion of range and numbers of white rhinos on private land in South Africa, to the extent that there are now more white rhino on private land in South Africa than there are rhino in the whole of the rest of Africa.
However, increased poaching, increased security costs, and perceived reduced incentives for their conservation have resulted in reduced white rhino live sale prices and an increasing number of owners seeking to get rid of their rhino. This worrying trend threatens to reverse the expansion of range and has the potential to also significantly reduce conservation budgets, due to declining live sales, and negatively affect meta-population growth rates in the future.
• Image | © Dennis Jarvis, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-SA 2.0)
• Sources | (Emslie, 2012)
