16 years after the last northern white rhino was poached, 16 southern white rhinos have been reintroduced to the DR Congo’s Garamba National Park.
‘The return of the white rhinos to the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a testament to our country’s commitment to biodiversity conservation,’ Director General of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), Yves Milan Ngangay, said
The rhinos have been transported to Garamba from a private game reserve in South Africa. The operation has been led by ICCN, conservation NGO African Parks, and sponsored by Canadian mining company Barrick Gold.
Aljazeera reported that African Parks CEO Peter Fearnhead said efforts to save northern white have been ‘too little too late.’ However, ‘this reintroduction is the start of a process whereby southern white rhino as the closest genetic alternative can fulfill the role of the northern white rhino in the landscape.’
Plans are in place for more southern white rhinos to be sent to Garamba in the future.
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