Work progress in Garamba National Park

At the very end of April we began the project in Garamba National Park to monitor the remaining northern white rhinos. The objectives of the preliminary work are to: (1) find out how many rhinos remain and of what sexes and ages; (2) evaluate the logistics of conserving them. From ground and aerial survey work we can thus far identify 11 different individuals. The known individuals comprise: 4 adult males; 3 probably 4 adult females; 1 unsexed subadult; 1 male calf under 1 year old; 1 unsexed calf under 1 year old. We do not know enough at this stage to draw any conclusions as to the exact number of rhinos remaining. Our immediate plans are to continue with intensive groundwork to verify further individuals and gather information on their behaviour and ecology, and to ensure that reliable guards are patrolling the rhino areas. Some further development of the monitoring programme will be carried out. The grass is roughly 1 to 1.5m tall at present. We are extremely grateful to the many organisations and individuals who have made this preliminary and urgent work possible and effective. Acknowledgements will be made in the full report.