As a result of the 1979/80 survey of the status of rhinos in Africa, the northern white rhino was identified as the most endangered of the African rhinos and projects were developed for their conservation in the then relatively high density areas of Shambe Game Reserve in Sudan and Parc National de la Garamba in Zaire. Funds were not immediately available, however, and a new wave of poaching took hold of both countries around 1979/81 as the commercial value of the horn became more widely realised and arms more easily available. Following the re-affirmation of the northern white rhino as a high conservation priority at the Wankie meeting of the Rhino and Elephant Groups and the A.E.R.S.G. meeting in Nairobi in September 1982, an 'Emergency Mission' went to Kinshasa and Garamba in October/November 1982, consisting of Ian Hughes, Kes Hillman and Paul Dutton, as well as Pat Rogers of FAO and Mankoto ma Mbaciele, Director Scientifique et Technique of the l'Institut Zairois pour la Conservation de la Nature (IZCN). We ascertained that rhinos still exist in Garamba, although in low numbers, and we proposed an initial project for immediate aid for anti-poaching as well as long term assistance.
Northern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) were discovered for the western world in 1900.
