Members may recall the aerial survey conducted in Botswana during September 1992, which was a joint undertakmg by the Rhino & Elephant Foundation, National Parks Board, Natal Parks Board and the Namibian Ministry of Wildlife, in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife & National Parks, Botswana. Funding for the census was provided by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Hong Kong, in conjunction with REF. The results of the survey, carried out when it was recognised there was an urgent need to know more about the status and distribution of both species of rhinoceros in northern Botswana for their long-term conservation, revealed an alarming decrease in numbers of both black and white rhinoceros. A total of seven white rhino were counted, with no black having been sighted Peter Hitchins, Trustee of the Foundation and a key player in the survey, stated in his report to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Botswana, that in-situ protection of both species of rhinoceros in the vast areas of northern Botswana were probably logistically and financially impossible in the long-term. The ultimate goal, he believed, was the capture of the free living rhinoceros and the placement of them in a well managed sanctuary with suitable habitat.
The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust have announced the birth of a new rhino calf at the Sanctuary, during February 1997. This brings the total number of rhinos resident at the Sanctuary, to twelve. The Sanctuary, a community based wildlife project, was established in 1992, in response to the impending threat to the survival of Botswana's remaining rhinos and bears testimony to the achievement of one of the major objectives of the Trust.
