Nestled in Limpopo Province is the D’Nyala Provincial Nature Reserve, a stunning haven of biodiversity that is both beautiful and vulnerable. The urgency of our mission became clear when we were summoned to assist in the critical task of relocating the last remaining rhino from this reserve.

The D’Nyala Reserve, which was once a flourishing habitat for rhinos, has seen its population wiped out completely. What was once a thriving community of rhinos has now dwindled to just one remaining individual, a stark result of relentless poaching. The relocation of this last rhino represents larger, troubling trends: the loss of habitat because reserves can no longer support their rhino populations. This crisis does not merely pertain to habitat loss in general; it focuses specifically on reserves that previously thrived with rhinos but eventually found it economically unfeasible to sustain them. The expenses associated with rhino care have skyrocketed, primarily due to the demand for comprehensive anti-poaching measures, fencing, and continuous monitoring. In numerous instances, reserves assign a full-time armed guard for each rhino, showcasing the substantial resources necessary to ensure their protection.

In the last five years, more than half a million hectares, once allocated as rhino reserves, have been lost due to their significant economic costs. Protecting rhinos has become prohibitively expensive for both private landowners and government reserves. The financial and logistical challenges of safeguarding them from poachers are too daunting. Consequently, there is an increasing trend of private landowners giving up their rhinos as they can no longer bear these costs.

The imbalance in tourist visitation exacerbates this issue. Although there are many nature reserves, most eco-tourists gravitate towards larger national parks such as Kruger National Park or renowned private wildlife reserves like Phinda and Amakala. Smaller, equally stunning, and biodiverse reserves, like Nyala, often go unnoticed. This neglect leads to a substantial decline in income generation, further complicating efforts for these reserves to maintain their wildlife populations, including rhinos.

Private wildlife reserves cover approximately 20 million hectares of marginal agricultural land, making up 16.8% of the nation’s total land area. The Wildlife Emergency Fund supports smaller, underfunded reserves, highlighting their vital role in biodiversity protection.