• Thirty rhinos were poached in 2012. The figure was 59 in 2013 and 35 rhinos in 2014.
• Only 11 were poached in 2015 and 10 in 2016.
Image: MOSES MWANGI
There has been a decline in the poaching of rhinos since 2018, although it remains an acute threat to the animals.
Trade data also suggests there has been a lowest annual estimate of rhino horns entering illegal trade markets since 2013.
This is according to a new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission Africa and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups and Traffic.
Scientific officer with the IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist Group Sam Ferreira said the overall decline in poaching of rhinos is encouraging, though it remains an acute threat to the survival of the iconic animals.
There were no rhinos lost to poaching in Kenya in 2020.
Kenya has the third largest population of rhinos in Africa after South Africa and Namibia having a total rhino population of 1,605 (853 black rhinos, 750 southern white rhinos and two northern white rhinos) as at end of 2020.
This is according to a census conducted last year.
Thirty rhinos were poached in 2012. The figure was 59 in 2013 and 35 rhinos in 2014.
Only 11 were poached in 2015 and 10 in 2016.
Comparative numbers for 2017 and 2018 were nine and four respectively.
“To support the growth of rhino numbers, it is essential to continue active population management and anti-poaching activities for all subspecies across different range states,” Ferreira said.
The report shows rhino poaching rates in Africa have continued to decline from a peak of 5.3 per cent of the total population in 2015 to 2.3per cent in 2021.
At least 2,707 rhinos were poached across Africa between 2018 and 2021, accounting for both the white rhino, which is vulnerable on the IUCN red list of threatened species and the rarer critically endangered black rhino.
South Africa accounted for 90 per cent of all reported cases, predominantly affecting white rhinos in Kruger National Park.
As a result, overall white rhino numbers on the continent have declined by almost 12 per cent (from 18,067 to 15,942 individuals) during this period, while populations of black rhinos increased by just over 12 per cent (from 5,495 to 6,195 individuals).
Overall, Africa’s rhino population declined around 1.6per cent per year, from an estimated 23,562 individuals in 2018 to 22,137 at the end of 2021.
According to the report, global lockdowns and restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic saw several African countries experience dramatically reduced poaching rates in 2020 compared to previous years.
South Africa lost 394 rhinos to poaching in 2020.
However, as Covid-19 travel restrictions were lifted, some range states reported new increases in poaching activities, for example, South Africa reported 451 and Kenya six poached rhinos in 2021.
However, these numbers are still significantly lower than during the peak in 2015, when South Africa alone lost 1175 rhinos to poaching.
Alongside the decline in poaching, data analysed for range and consumer states suggests that, on average, between 575 and 923 rhino horns entered illegal trade markets each year between 2018 and 2020, compared to approximately 2,378 per year between 2016 and 2017.
However, in 2019, before the Covid-19 outbreak, the reported seized weight of illegal rhino specimens reached its highest point of the decade, perhaps due to increased regulations and law enforcement efforts.
While the range and consumer countries most affected by illegal trade remained the same as in previous reports, the lack of consistent reporting by some countries still limits the ability to better understand patterns of illegal trade in rhino horns.
The report shows the number of greater one-horned rhinos in India and Nepal increased from an estimated 3,588 in 2018 to 4,014 at the end of 2021, while the total population of Javan rhinos increased from between 65 and 68 individuals in 2018 to 76 at the end of 2021.
This is due to conservation efforts including strengthened law enforcement.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris