In the mid 1970s, Serengeti National Park had a black rhino population of about 700. However, rampant killing beginning in the late 1970s led to the near extermination of the species in Tanzania by the 1990s. The Serengeti was not spared.

The Tanzanian government responded to the slaughter with a call for a countrywide survey to gather baseline data on rhinos. This 1993 survey, funded by the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), found evidence for only five black rhinos in the Serengeti, mainly in the Moru Kopjes area in the southwest section of the park.

The rhino conversation project keeps growing

With the situation confirmed as dire, FZS commenced discussions with the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) to establish a rhino conservation project at Moru Kopjes. In 1996 work began on improved monitoring and anti-poaching efforts. The Michael Grzimek Memorial Rhino Post was designed and built for the rhino monitoring unit, located on one of the rocky hills that are characteristic of Moru Kopjes. An information room was included to educate visitors about the plight of black rhinos. A VHF radio system was installed for communication, and anti-poaching patrol methods were completely altered, with ranger teams based full-time in the field.

Serengeti Population Development

Initially, only one of the remaining females was breeding well. However, after this slow start, the rhino population increased more than tenfold in the past twenty years and has begun dispersing to other areas. There are now two sub-populations of rhinos in the Serengeti region—one in the original repatriation area at Ndasiata, and another in the north where rhinos ignore the international border with Kenya and move freely between the Maasai Mara National Reserve and Serengeti National Park.

A Moru rhino ranger tower for observing rhinos and keeping an eye out for poachers. Moru, Serengeti, Tanzania. © Daniel Rosengren
A Moru rhino Ranger scanning and searching for rhinos from a special tower. He is also searching for poachers. Moru, Serengeti, Tanzania. © Daniel Rosengren

Rhinos returning to the land of their ancestors

The Serengeti Rhino Repatriation Project (SRRP) aimed at boosting the small Serengeti rhino population with additional rhino. In May 2010, six rhinos were brought back to the territory of their ancestors: the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem. They were the descendants of animals that were captured in Tsavo in Kenya in 1961 and moved to South Africa. These animals had been maintained as an isolated population by South African National Parks (SANParks). The SRRP initially aimed to to re-introduce 32 individuals. However, a major uprise in poaching in Tanzania during that time, did not allow for more transports.

Today, FZS continues to support TANAPA’s rhino conservation efforts in the Serengeti through the provision of food rations to the rhino protection teams, aerial surveillance flights for monitoring and anti-poaching, the purchase and maintenance of a digital radio network, logistical and financial support for rhino monitoring, as well as the repair and maintenance of all of the rhino teams’ vehicles. FZS assisted the park with a rhino tagging operation in 2017, when 21 rhinos were captured and fitted with radio transmitter horn implants. FZS also provided assistance with the procurement of the telemetry equipment (transmitters, receivers, antennas), aerial surveillance, and general technical assistance.