The number of rhinos in Africa is increasing again: the deposed president of Niger goes to court

For the first time in ten years, more rhinos were found on the African continent than last year. As the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on Thursday, there were almost 23,300 rhinos living in Africa at the end of 2022.

That was 5.2 percent more than in 2021. As a result, both the number of white rhinos and black rhinos increased again. Michael Knight, naturalist and head of the IUCN expert group on rhinos in Africa, spoke of “good news” that could allow the organization to “breathe a sigh of relief for the first time in a decade.”

To make the balance, the IUCN combined the estimates of the animals’ specimens in different countries. According to this, various protective measures have led to the number increasing again. The increase in the number of black rhinos was 4.2 percent; their current population was reported to be 6,487. The number of white rhinos increased by 5.6 percent to 16,803.

Knight: Do not give up your efforts

Now it is important to “continue to consolidate the positive trend (…) and not give up,” said Knight.

Decades of poaching have severely reduced the global rhino population. One reason for hunting is the high demand for the animal’s horn as medicine in Asian countries.

According to the IUCN, more than 550 rhinos were killed by poachers across the continent in 2022, most of them in South Africa. Nearly 80 percent of the world’s rhinos live in South Africa. (sda/afp)