Why 8 endangered Rhinos died on a mission to save them

A mission to save critically endangered rhinos by transferring them to a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya is over by tragedy, with the death of eight fingered ungulates Ministry of Tourism of Kenya.

But the culprit was not poaching. According to the ministry, black rhinos ( Diceros bicornis ) arrived at the new sanctuary of Tsavo East National Park, where they drank salted water. a high salt content. The rhinoceros drank more water than the rhinoceros, which resulted in a vicious circle, the ministry reported on July 13. [Up and Away! Photos of Rhinos in Flight]

The loss is "shocking news," said Paula Kahumbu, executive director of WildlifeDirect, a conservation group in Kenya.

"This translocation can only be described as a complete disaster," Kahumbu wrote on his Facebook page. "Kenyans must demand full explanation and transparency, as well as badurances that we will adopt best practices in wildlife transfers to learn from this disaster and prevent it from recurring."

The Kenya Wildlife Service originally planned 14 black rhinos from two of Kenya's national parks: Nairobi and Lake Nakuru. However, after 11 of the rhinos were moved, eight of them died, the ministry said in a statement. Park management now closely follows the remaining three rhinos.

Surviving transferred rhinos also receive fresh water in temporary water ponds while waiting for the post mortem examination report and other forensic investigations. In addition, the last three rhinos on the resettlement list will no longer be moved to the park, the ministry said. These 14 rhinos were part of an initiative to create a new population, which was part of a plan defined by the National Strategy for Rhino Conservation and Management.

In the past, Kenya has been successful with the relocation of rhinos. Between 2005 and 2017, of the 149 rhinos that the country has transferred, only eight have died. (These eight deaths are distinct from the recently deceased rhinos.)

Black rhinos are critically endangered. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, there were about 850,000 black rhinos in the 20th century, a number that was reduced to 4,880 in 2010. Meanwhile, the last Northern White Rhino, the Sudan, died in March. Many rhinoceros species are threatened with extinction due to the demand for their horns on the black market – largely because of unproven badertions that their horns can heal various ailments, reported Live Science

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