Late last year, Kenya Wildlife Service KWS completed a five-day translocation operation moving three southern white rhinos two females from Lake Nakuru National Park and one male from Meru National Park to the Mt Kenya Wildlife Conservancy MKWC. The move establishes MKWC as Kenyas 20 th rhino sanctuary.
The initiative aligns with the KWS 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, which prioritises securing additional conservation spaces and accelerating national rhino population recovery. The Mt Kenya ecosystem once held Kenyas largest rhino population in the 1970s before numbers declined sharply through the early 1980s. The last rhinos were lost by 2011.
After nearly 15 years without rhinos in the landscape, KWS conducted a two-year assessment to determine MKWCs suitability to host the species again. The positive results informed extensive planning that led to the recent move. Restoring rhinos to this area is considered vital to rebuilding its ecological integrity and historical significance.
