Laikipia Rhino Range Expansion Management Plan and Implementation

In 1970, it is estimated that there were 20,000 eastern black rhinos in Kenya, but by 1985, it is estimated that there were fewer than 400 individuals left as a result of an unprecedented poaching pandemic. Recognizing that the rhinos could become locally extinct, secure habitat sanctuaries were formed; small, ecologically suitable, fenced areas where security could be intensified and the poaching could be somewhat mitigated. At the end of 2021, the rhinos had recovered to 938 individuals. Recognizing that these rhino sanctuaries had exceeded or were approaching ecological carrying capacity, the Association of Private Land and Community Land Rhino Sanctuaries (APLRS) organized a Laikipia Rhino Range Expansion Theory of Change workshop in 2019 to discuss the feasibility of establishing landscape contiguity to create a mega-rhino sanctuary. Through RRF funding, the APLRS will now develop a management plan to strategically create the next steps to achieve this ambitious vision.