Black rhinos, critically endangered, die after being transported to Kenya National Park

Sayyid Abdul Azim AP

Eight critically endangered black rhinos died following an attempt to move them from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to a national park hundreds of kilometers away .

Eight endangered black rhinos died after being transported to a new wildlife sanctuary in Africa. The dead were among 11 black rhinos taken from Nairobi National Parks and Lake Nakuru at Tsavo East National Park. Kenyan wildlife officials said a preliminary investigation had shown that rhinos had died of high water salinity in their new environment and described the death toll as unprecedented in their efforts to revive the black rhinoceros population.

In a statement, Wildlife Direct conservation group said: "It's shocking and discouraging." The translocation exercise was intended to support the successful breeding program of this endangered black rhino species. for which Kenya holds 80% of subspecies … This is a major conservation tragedy, not only for Kenya but for all rhinoceroses.] According to Cathy Dean, Save the Rhino CEO, animal relocation endangered, a process called translocation, can help prevent their extinction, she said that a post-mortem is essential. "You need to proactively manage your populations, whether for genetic diversity or for relieve overcrowded areas, or to create new populations, "said Dean." A key part of this is to be able to do translocations. We must find what is wrong so that these mistakes never happen again. "

Dean said that there were once thousands of black rhinos in Kenya, but now their population is in the hundreds.

In order to bring them back, Dean said that Kenya had the Intended to increase the number of black rhinos by 2,000. The translocation of animals to Tsavo East National Park was part of an effort to achieve this.

"It seems like" about a year ago, there were only ten to fifteen black rhinos surviving in Tsavo East National Park, which is part of the national black rhinoceros strategy. The Kenya Wildlife Service, along with its partners, determined that it would be a good plan to move more rhinos to Tsavo East National Park, in order to restore a breeding population, "said Dean.

During the translocation, the Animals are asleep for the trip, before being woken to their destination.The displacement and adaptation to a new environment make translocation a delicate process.In a statement, the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Fauna said: "Preliminary investigations conducted by the KWS veterinary teams attribute deaths to salt poisoning resulting from saltwater intake upon their arrival in the new environment. These results are consistent with cases of salt poisoning in other animal species, indicating a challenge in adapting translocated rhinoceroses to the pbadage of freshwater to the sea. Saline water in the sanctuary. High salt levels lead to dehydration that triggers the mechanism of thirst, resulting in an excess of salt water that exacerbates the problem. "

The Kenyan government has announced that it has invited Peter Gathumbi, a veteran pathologist from the University of Nairobi, to conduct an independent investigation and has also stated that the remaining rhinos that have been transported" are closely monitored by veterinary management teams and park and receive fresh water in temporary water basins, pending the report of complete post-mortem examination and other forensic investigations "

The rhinoceros population has decreased in part because of targeting by poachers, who want the horns of animals." Economic development in Asia has fueled the demand for rhinoceros horns, which are used in some Chinese medicines. and Vietnamese and presented as a symbol of wealth.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service, nine rhinos were killed in Kenya last year. Three were ab Attused in a protected sanctuary in northern Kenya in May. [19789011] NPR's Eyder Peralta reported the death of the last northern white rhino named Sudan in March. Kenyan veterinarians put Sudan down after he got sick. Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, died Monday in Kenya, leaving its species a little closer to extinction, even as a group of scientists makes an unprecedented effort to prevent this animal to disappear completely. "Peralta wrote.

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