After more than four decades, rhinos have returned to Uganda’s Kidepo Valley National Park, a symbol of resilience.
Two southern white rhinos rumbled out of transport crates Tuesday, beginning a long journey to repopulate a park once emptied by poachers.
The animals are the first of eight rhinos set to reclaim the savannah where the last one was killed in 1983.
Political instability and ruthless poachers eradicated all rhinos across Uganda’s parks, wiping out roughly 700 of the species in the wild.
Their disappearance marked the total extinction of rhinos in Uganda, leaving a silence across savannahs that once teemed with giants.
State-run Uganda Wildlife Authority now oversees the reintroduction, hoping to restore a species that formed part of the park’s natural heritage.
“This moment marks the beginning of a new rhino story for Kidepo Valley National Park,” said James Musinguzi, Executive Director of UWA.
The rhinos were translocated from Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch in Nakasongola, where breeding efforts have thrived since 2005.
Despite global anti-poaching campaigns, demand for rhino horns persists, driven by traditional medicine and symbols of status in Asian countries.
Kidepo remains vulnerable to armed cattle rustlers and its proximity to South Sudan, where ongoing insurgencies threaten regional security.
Authorities continue prosecuting poachers and wildlife traffickers, but conservationists warn the fight to protect Uganda’s iconic wildlife is far from over.