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Right to roam
It has always been Ziwa’s central mission to breed enough rhinos so that they can be translocated to other areas of the country, such as national parks where rhinos once roamed. But the reality of replicating this stable environment has been a challenge.
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Many of the national parks are unfenced and suffer from high levels of poaching from communities living nearby, as well as the encroachment of human settlements and resulting human-wildlife conflict.
The UWA has been preparing Ajai Wildlife Reserve, which was once a stronghold of the white rhino and lies 136 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Ziwa, for reintroduction since 2021. But there have been several hold-ups, due to a lack of funding, challenges relocating people living within the park boundaries, and a shortage of rangers, says John Makombo, UWA’s conservation director.
However, he is confident these hurdles have now been overcome and says that UWA plans to move around 20 rhinos from Ziwa to Ajai before February 2026. “The government has now got a substantial budget … We’ve been preparing ourselves and we are now ready,” he tells CNN.
Next month, community members who have agreed to compensation will be relocated to new homes outside of the reserve, he says, and in May, UWA will start constructing an electrified enclosure where the rhinos will be kept. He adds that they are already restoring the vegetation to make it a suitable habitat, and have started recruiting rangers, including people from the local community, who will be trained from June onwards.
Those at Ziwa are cautiously optimistic; they have been given dates before that have come and gone. This time however, there is more urgency. Roy estimates that Ziwa has the capacity for around 70 or 80 rhinos, but she adds that they are expecting a new intake of eight individuals from another African country soon, bringing its population to around 60. This new intake is much needed, she says, to diversify the gene pool and maintain a healthy population.
It has always been Ziwa’s central mission to breed enough rhinos so that they can be translocated to other areas of the country, such as national parks where rhinos once roamed. But the reality of replicating this stable environment has been a challenge.
cbridge
Many of the national parks are unfenced and suffer from high levels of poaching from communities living nearby, as well as the encroachment of human settlements and resulting human-wildlife conflict.
The UWA has been preparing Ajai Wildlife Reserve, which was once a stronghold of the white rhino and lies 136 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Ziwa, for reintroduction since 2021. But there have been several hold-ups, due to a lack of funding, challenges relocating people living within the park boundaries, and a shortage of rangers, says John Makombo, UWA’s conservation director.
However, he is confident these hurdles have now been overcome and says that UWA plans to move around 20 rhinos from Ziwa to Ajai before February 2026. “The government has now got a substantial budget … We’ve been preparing ourselves and we are now ready,” he tells CNN.
Next month, community members who have agreed to compensation will be relocated to new homes outside of the reserve, he says, and in May, UWA will start constructing an electrified enclosure where the rhinos will be kept. He adds that they are already restoring the vegetation to make it a suitable habitat, and have started recruiting rangers, including people from the local community, who will be trained from June onwards.
Those at Ziwa are cautiously optimistic; they have been given dates before that have come and gone. This time however, there is more urgency. Roy estimates that Ziwa has the capacity for around 70 or 80 rhinos, but she adds that they are expecting a new intake of eight individuals from another African country soon, bringing its population to around 60. This new intake is much needed, she says, to diversify the gene pool and maintain a healthy population.