Contribution of Private Game Ranching and Captive Bred Operations in South Africa to White Rhino Ceratotherium simum Species Survival Conservation

Abstract

Deon Furstenburg Michelle Otto Pieter Van Niekerk Derek Lewitton

The southern white rhinoceros (SWR) (Ceratotherium simum simum) is under global threat of extinction, due to poaching in protected areas and state-owned parks. The Kruger National Park (KNP), the stronghold for SWR, has suffered a population decline of over 75.0% since 2011, and an average annual decline of -10.2% from 2008 to 2020, a remaining population estimated at 2,607 animals by the end of 2020, and 2,458 animals left by the end of June 2022. On the contrary, SWR under private custodianship on rewilded agro-sustainable game ranches in South Africa [estimated at >8,000 animals, some of which are registered Captive Breeding Operations (CBO); assessed CBOs contained 2,882 rhinos with this study (Sep 2021)], increase with average annual growth performances of 9.0%. This increase has been attributed to effective security, provision of additional habitat, dispersal, and frequent genetic exchange of rhinos between private breeding subpopulations. World conservation bodies, mostly due to misguided and prejudiced media publicity and the lack of scientific analytical assessment, have largely overlooked the conservation success of the private sector. Private rhino custodians and their bio-conservation breeding practices, with private agro-sustainable biodiversity wildlife management and/ or captive breeding, generally being perceived as either “canned” or equated to “captive zoological-gardens”. Since the commencement of the International Convention on Biodiversity, global controversy exists whereby most of mankind today perceive bio-conservation of a species to be assigned in principle solely to protected areas and state-owned parks. The unique and advantageous roles of rewilded bio-conservation and sustainable-use conservation CBOs, being a key to green-economy and natural capital in a post-Covid-19 struggle, are mostly ignored. This study serves to assess and quantify the impact of private wildlife ranching in South Africa with specific focus on its potential contribution to rhino conservation specifically for that of the SWR C.s. simum.

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