By Paul Fauvet
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) announced on Monday that the Zinave National Park in the southern province of Inhambane has receive nine female white rhinoceros from South Africa “to restore the balance of the ecosystems”.
The General Director of ANAC, Pejul Calenga, cited in an ANAC release, declared “by returning the white rhinoceros to Zinave, we are not merely ensuring the future of a key species, but also restoring ecosystem balance, creating investment opportunities in the context of the wildlife economy, promoting the development of local communities, and showing what is possible when partners work together on behalf of nature”.
According to ANAC, the rhinos were donated to Zinave as part of a programme for the reintroduction of the rhinoceros “in a complex cross-border conservation operation”, undertaken by the Mozambican NGO Exxaro Resources and the South African Peace Parks Foundation, with the support of the South African government’s Department of Forestry and the Environment.
With the new arrivals, the Zinave Park now has 39 white rhinos and 22 black rhinos. Both species are reproducing.
The movement of the rhinos “marks a chapter of pride and hope in the trajectory of conservation in Mozambique”, said Calenga.
The administrator of the Zinave Park, Antonio Abacar, stressed that the arrival of the nine female rhinos “is another important step in restoring biodiversity in this conservation area. It strengthens our commitment to protect endangered species”.
Abacar said Zinave is the only park in Mozambique where visitors can see all of the “big five” – elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, lions and leopards.
“This is a landmark which shows the success of the restoration efforts undertaken in recent years. It was made possible by the partnership between Exxaro and the Peace Parks Foundation.
Moving the rhinos across the border was a complex operation, involving months of technical preparations by specialist teams, including veterinary scientists, adequate trucks to transport these huge animals, and permanent monitoring after they had been released into the park.
Currently the rhinos are inside a top security area created specifically to guarantee their survival.
The Peace Parks Foundation has invested 34 million US dollars in Zinave since 2015, transforming the Park into a successful conservation story.
Zinave is part of the Greater Limpopo Cross-Border Conservation Area, which covers 100,000 square kilometres in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Werner Myburgh, said that Zinave “shows what it is possible to achieve with a long term commitment joined to solid partnerships and local leadership”.
The return of rhinos to Zinave, he added, “reflects years of investment in restoring a protected area which benefits both wildlife and the local community”.
A co-management agreement for Zinave was signed in 2015 between the Mozambican government and the Peace Parks Foundation. Since then, 2,431 animals of various species have been reintroduced into the park, including elephants, buffaloes, leopards and hyenas. (PF)
