The International Rhino Foundation

TO ENSURE THE SURVIVAL OF RHINOS THROUGH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, TARGETED PROTECTION, AND SCIENTIFICALLY SOUND INTERVENTIONS.

SUMATRAN RHINO BREEDING AND PROTECTION ON NOV. 12, 2021, INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND CONSERVATION PARTNERS, INCLUDING IRF, BROKE GROUND ON A NEW SUMATRAN RHINO SANCTUARY (SRS) IN THE LEUSER ECOSYSTEM IN ACEH PROVINCE ON THE ISLAND OF SUMATRA. THE NEW SRS WILL BE THE THIRD, JOINING CURRENT BREEDING FACILITIES IN WAY KAMBAS NATIONAL PARK IN SOUTHERN SUMATRA (HOME TO SEVEN RHINOS) AS WELL AS THE SMALL SANCTUARY IN EAST KALIMANTAN. DESPITE ONGOING DELAYS CAUSED BY THE PANDEMIC AND TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS, OUR SUMATRAN RHINO SURVIVAL ALLIANCE IS MOVING FORWARD WITH PLANS TO HOPEFULLY BEGIN CAPTURING AND TRANSLOCATING RHINOS INTO THE SANCTUARIES LATER IN 2022. DURING 2021, TRAINING WAS HELD VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM WITH PLANS TO CONVENE IN-PERSON TRAINING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. DESPITE COVID RESTRICTIONS, THE GOVERNMENT HAS APPROVED FOR SURVEY TEAMS TO CONTINUE TO PATROL THE RHINOS' RANGING AREA, DOCUMENTING SIGNS OF RHINO ACTIVITY.IRF ALSO CONTINUES TO FUND PROTECTION TEAMS THAT PATROL PROTECTED AREAS, MONITORING SUMATRAN RHINOS, REMOVING TRAPS AND SNARES, AND APPREHENDING POACHERS AND ENCROACHERS. WE ALSO FUND REFORESTATION OF SUMATRAN RHINO HABITAT IN WAY KAMBAS NATIONAL PARK.JAVAN RHINO MONITORING AND PROTECTIONINDONESIA'S MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTRY ANNOUNCED IN AUGUST LAST YEAR THAT THE WORLD'S ONLY REMAINING POPULATION OF JAVAN RHINOS HAS INCREASED TO 75 INDIVIDUALS IN UJUNG KULON NATIONAL PARK (UKNP). CAMERAS ARE POSITIONED THROUGHOUT THE PARK TO UKNP TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUAL RHINOS AND ASSIST PARK OFFICIALS IN TRACKING NEW BIRTHS FOR POPULATION CENSUS. IRF PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR THE PROGRAM AND DONATED ONE HUNDRED NEW CAMERAS IN 2021 TO REPLACE DAMAGED OR MISSING CAMERAS. TEN YEARS AGO, THERE WERE FEWER THAN 50 JAVAN RHINOS IN UKNP, BUT WITH THE PARK'S CONSERVATION EFFORTS, THE RHINO POPULATION HAS BEEN GRADUALLY INCREASING WITH AT LEAST ONE NEW CALF EVERY YEAR SINCE 2012. JAVAN RHINOS ARE FOUND ONLY IN INDONESIA'S UKNP WHERE THE POPULATION APPEARS TO HAVE STABILIZED, LARGELY BECAUSE THEY ARE GUARDED BY TERRESTRIAL AND MARINE-BASED RHINO PROTECTION UNITS FUNDED BY IRF.

BLACK RHINO TRANSLOCATIONS IN ZIMBABWEAFTER NEARLY 30 YEARS OF ABSENCE, CRITICALLY ENDANGERED BLACK RHINOS WERE REINTRODUCED TO GONAREZHOU NATIONAL PARK BY THE GONAREZHOU CONSERVATION TRUST'S TEAM OF EXPERTS AND PARTNERS. LAST YEAR IN JULY, THE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION'S PARTNER IN ZIMBABWE, THE LOWVELD RHINO TRUST (LRT), PARTICIPATED IN A TRANSLOCATION TO ESTABLISH THE INITIAL POPULATION IN GONAREZHOU. IN ALL, 29 RHINOS WERE TRANSLOCATED FROM OTHER AREAS OF ZIMBABWE, INCLUDING BUBE VALLEY CONSERVANCY, MALILANGWE AND SAVE VALLEY TO ESTABLISH THE NEW POPULATION IN GONAREZHOU. THE NEW POPULATION IS DOING WELL, IN FACT, TOWARDS THE END OF LAST YEAR THE FIRST CALF WAS BORN IN THE PARK.RANGER SUPPORT AND TRAINING IN SOUTH AFRICAIRF'S CORE IMPLEMENTING PARTNER IN SOUTH AFRICA IS STOP RHINO POACHING (SRP), A LOCAL NGO THAT WORKS WITH SELECTED RESERVES THROUGHOUT SOUTH AFRICA TO IMPROVE SECURITY AND ANTI-POACHING EFFORTS. A KEY COMPONENT OF SRP'S WORK IS FACILITATING TRAINING ON TRACKING, FIRST AID, INTELLIGENCE GATHERING, LEGAL ISSUES AND OTHER TOPICS FOR RANGERS AND RESERVE MANAGERS. IN 2021, IRF FUNDED SRP'S PROVIDED FOUR DAYS OF TACTICAL FIRST AID TRAINING (AND SPECIALIZED TRAUMA FIRST AID KITS PACKS) FOR KRUGER NATIONAL PARK'S NIGHT OPERATIONS TEAM, AND TRAINED 32 RANGERS FROM WELGEVONDEN GAME RESERVE AND ADDO ELEPHANT NATIONAL PARK ON TRACKING AND OPERATIONS. 281 RANGERS AND MANAGERS FROM RESERVES ACROSS THE COUNTRY PARTICIPATED IN SRP'S INNOVATIVE LEGAL TRAINING PROGRAM, DEVELOPED TO CONTRIBUTE TO "TECHNICALITY FREE" ARRESTS, WHICH LEAD TO MORE SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTIONS OF RHINO CRIMES.TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYED TO COMBAT WILDLIFE TRADERHINO RESERVES AND NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING THEM WERE HIT WITH HUGE ECONOMIC LOSSES AS COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS GROUND TRAVEL AND TOURISM GROUND TO A HALT AND GOVERNMENTS REDUCED THEIR CONSERVATION BUDGETS. IN 2020, IRF PROVIDED EMERGENCY FUNDING THROUGH THE RESERVE RELIEF FUND TO HELP BRIDGE FINANCIAL FUNDING GAPS. THIS YEAR, IRF CONTINUED FUNDING CRITICAL PROTECTION AND MONITORING PROGRAMS. WITH THE EMERGENCY GRANTS, RESERVES HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN RANGER SALARIES, PROVIDE NEEDED EQUIPMENT AND IN SOME CASES TO DEPLOY TECHNOLOGY TO HELP IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE CRIMINAL SYNDICATES THAT CONTROL POACHING. IRF HAS SUPPORTED SECURITY CLUSTERS CONSISTING OF MORE THAN 20 RHINO RESERVES IN SOUTH AFRICA (ALL NEW IRF COLLABORATORS) TO INSTALL REAL-TIME SECURITY CAMERAS AND SURVEILLANCE, RESULTING IN THE APPREHENSION OF 22 POACHERS TO DATE.

GREATER ONE-HORNED RHINO HABITAT MANAGEMENTIRF IS COLLABORATING WITH OUR NGO PARTNER, AARANYAK, AND LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON A FIVE-YEAR PROJECT TO REMOVE INVASIVE PLANTS FROM MANAS NATIONAL PARK IN INDIA, WHERE AROUND ONE-THIRD OF THE RHINOS' GRASSLAND HABITAT HAS ALREADY BEEN TAKEN OVER BY INVASIVE SPECIES. OVER THE PAST YEAR, LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS SUCCESSFULLY RESTORED 50 ACRES OF PRIME RHINO HABITAT; WE PLAN TO RESTORE ANOTHER 250 ACRES OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.IRF EXPANDED ITS GREATER ONE-HORNED RHINO CONSERVATION PROGRAM TO NEPAL IN 2021 MAKING OUR FIRST GRANT TO THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR NATURE CONSERVATION (NTNC). THE PROJECT WILL REMOVE INVASIVE SPECIES AND RESTORE RHINO HABITAT IN CHITWAN NATIONAL PARK, HOME TO THE SECOND LARGEST POPULATION OF GREATER ONE-HORNED RHINOS IN THE WORLD. OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, NTNC WILL REMOVE INVASIVE SPECIES FROM 625 ACRES OF GRASSLANDS. THE INDIAN RHINO VISION 2020 (IRV2020) PROGRAM CAME TO A CLOSE WITH THE TRANSLOCATION OF TWO RHINOS FROM KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK TO MANAS NATIONAL PARK IN ASSAM, INDIA IN APRIL OF 2021. IRV2020 WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2005 WITH A GOAL TO INCREASE THE RHINO POPULATION IN INDIA'S STATE OF ASSAM TO 3,000 BY ESTABLISHING POPULATIONS IN SEVEN PROTECTED AREAS. OVER THE LAST YEAR, THE IRV 2020 PARTNERS MET TO OUTLINE GOALS FOR THE COMING YEARS WITH THE HOPES OF BUILDING ON THE SUCCESSES AND LEARNING FROM THE MISSTEPS OF THE PREVIOUS PROGRAMS.