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First Existing evidence of The Black Rhino
The species was first named Rhinoceros bicornis by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema naturae in 1758. The name means "double-horned rhinoceros". -
The subspecies extinction
Southern black rhinoceros – Extinct. It became extinct due to excessive hunting and habitat destruction around 1850. -
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The decline of the Black Rhino
For most of the 20th century the continental black rhino was the most numerous of all rhino species. Around 1900 there were probably several hundred thousand living in Africa. During the latter half of the 20th century their numbers were severely reduced from an estimated 70,000 in the late 1960s to only 10,000 to 15,000 in 1981. -
WWF
WWF launched an international effort to save wildlife in 1961, rescuing black rhinos—among many other species—from the brink of extinction. -
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Furthermore into the decline
In the early 1990s the number dipped below 2,500, and in 2004 it was reported that only 2,410 black rhinos remained. -
BRREP
In South Africa, WWF, in partnership with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Eastern Cape Parks and Tourismand partners started the Black Rhino Ranger Expansion Project (BBREP) in 2003. -
The International Rhino Foundation
According to the International Rhino Foundation—housed in Yulee, Florida at White Oak Conservation, which breeds black rhinos—the total African population had recovered to 4,240 by 2008. -
Are Black Rhinos really going to become extinct?
With the Immense decline of rhino population, leaving the world with just over 2,000 black rhinos still alive, an article was posted in 2016 speculating the possible extinction of black rhinos. "Present rhino populations are small and threatened by a rising onslaught of poaching. This present scenario and associated dynamics predicts continued decline in rhino population size with accelerated extinction risks of rhinos by 2036." -
Working on bringing Black Rhinos out of endangerment
Thanks to persistent conservation efforts across Africa and the WWF, the total number of black rhinos grew from 2,410 in 1995 to more than 5,000 today. The Black Rhino Range Expansion Project (BRREP) was started in 2003 to counter this species-threatening decrease in their numbers. This project is a partnership between the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Board and are striving towards the goal of repopulating the black rhino species.
