White rhinos make a quiet return to Uganda
Date: 06-Nov-01
Country: UGANDA
Rhino Fund Uganda (RFU) said two Southern White rhinos arrived at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre near the capital Kampala on Sunday in the first phase of a plan to start restocking the country's national parks.
"Sherino, a three-year-old male, and Kabira, a two-year-old female are the first rhinos to return to Uganda after both white and black rhinos became extinct in Uganda in the early 80s," RFU project coordinator Yvonne Verkaik said.
Once they have settled in, the two rhinos will be on public display - the first stage in a $100,000 project whose eventual goal is to return rhinos to their natural habitats in Uganda. Phase two involves establishing a rhino sanctuary for breeding.
Uganda's game parks were ravaged by years of political turbulence, which peaked during a civil war to overthrow dictator Idi Amin in 1979.
Poachers, capitalising on the lack of government supervision, hunted the rhino for its horns, used for medicinal and ornamental purposes in East Asia.
There are only 41 Northern White rhinos, native to Uganda, in the world today - 30 in the Congo and 11 in zoos - compared to more than 8,000 Southern White rhinos found in southern Africa, Verkaik told Reuters.
It is hoped that restocking game parks will help revive Uganda's tourism industry, which has suffered several setbacks in the last few years, mainly due to regional instability.