More than 500 black rhinos are estimated to have once roamed the Serengeti ecosystem, but by the early 1980s the population was reduced to just 15 animals. In 1993, the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), in partnership with Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority and later in 1995 in partnership with Tanzania National Parks, began an ambitious project to restore a viable population of black rhinos to the ecosystem. This project has included reintroductions complemented by a robust security protocol that has resulted in a  healthy and growing population, despite the poaching crisis still facing rhinos across Africa. Rian Labuschagne headed the first stage of the project and has now returned to the Serengeti to manage FZS’s Serengeti Conservation Program. His presentation gave a brief history of the two rhino populations and the restoration project, followed by a description of current work and the challenges for the future.

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