Doncaster's Yorkshire Wildlife Park is helping to save the endangered rhino

The global fight to save rhinos from extinction has been boosted by a project funded by the Yorkshire Wildlife Park Foundation (YWPF).

Its success was celebrated on World Rhino Day (WRD), September 22, which focuses attention on the plight of the rhino that has been devastated by poaching and habitat loss.

“Rhino numbers have been under pressure for decades, but we are proud to be part of the fight to save them,” said Cheryl Williams, trustee of YWPF, at Branton, near Doncaster.

“The progress made at Ol Jogi has been amazing and it is great to see that our continued efforts are really helping to contribute to the international fight to save the rhinos.

YWPF, which is based at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, has been in long term collaboration on surveillance and protection of rhinos with Save the Rhino International at Ol Jogi Conservancy in Kenya.

A previous project helped to create a boma to provide a secure and safe place for the rehabilitation of orphan and injured rhinos.

“However, it is so sad that the rhinos are still under huge threat in the wild. But, by closely working alongside Ol Jogi, we are all doing everything we can to help,” Cheryl continued.

“We hope that on WRD people will donate to help these incredible animals – charities have been struggling to raise funds during the Covid crisis and Ol Jogi, like many important sanctuaries has suffered from the decline in tourism to Kenya that helps to support its day to day costs.”

Ol Jogi, which is 150 miles north of the capital Nairobi, is a centre for animal conservation with leading edge veterinary facilities, rescue centre, breeding programmes and education outreach schemes.

It is a stronghold for the Eastern black rhino and has facilities to hand-rear orphaned or injured rhinos and return them to the wild.

“On World Rhino Day, it is important that we celebrate success and also recognise that more conservation projects are needed to save the rhino.”

The support has helped reduce poaching in Africa by 20 per cent to below 1,000 annually for the first time in five years, which has supported a 12 per cent annual growth of black rhino numbers.

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