In the early 1990s it was assumed that Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve’s 3,000 indigenous black rhino (Diceros bicornis michaeli) had been poached to extinction. The Selous Rhino Trust was established in 2000 to support a small rhino conservation project that had been set up by the Trustees in a more informal way in the Selous in 1995 when signs were identified that there was a very small number still existing in the north of the Reserve. The significance of this is that these rhino represent one of the very few pockets of indigenous, wild black rhinos that still exist anywhere in the world.
Since the project has started it has focused on this northern sector of the Reserve and has successfully identified a total of 19 individuals including five calves confirming that the population is viable (up from an estimated 1-5 individuals when the project began). The task now is to continue to protect and nurture this northern population and then to assess the situation on black rhino dynamics across the rest of the Reserve. We are aware of other rhino populations, particularly in the East of the Reserve that had been the subject of an old WWF project.
The Selous Rhino Trust has put together a comprehensive strategy to implement methodology perfected in the northern sector across the entire 40,000 square kilometers of the Reserve. The timeframe for the project is four years with a budget requirement of US $3million. A comprehensive and compelling financing proposal has been developed to support the strategy and this document and supporting promotional materials will be used to attract the funding required.
However it is estimated that it could take up to 18 months to identify and secure funding to the stage that the project is up and running. Currently the Selous Rhino Trust has funding secured by the European Commission until the end of May 2006 after which time it is currently seeking funds to provide a bridge that will ensure that the current project can continue (particularly crucial anti-poaching activities) in advance of the next project starting.