This World Rhino Day, We Celebrate the Return of Rhinos to Kidepo and Ajai
This World Rhino Day, We Celebrate the Return of Rhinos to Kidepo and Ajai
Learning that survives crisis
Learning that survives crisis
Rhinos at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary have done incredibly well, thanks to sustained professional management and protection. That success is now helping Uganda take its next step: rhinos have returned to Ajai Wildlife Reserve and Kidepo Valley National Park.
For the Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF), Kidepo is especially close to the heart. For the past five years, we have maintained considerable operational capacity in Kidepo and across Karamoja, working every day alongside the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to strengthen this landscape.
One lesson has become very clear along the way.
Rhinos at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary have done incredibly well, thanks to sustained professional management and protection. That success is now helping Uganda take its next step: rhinos have returned to Ajai Wildlife Reserve and Kidepo Valley National Park.
For the Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF), Kidepo is especially close to the heart. For the past five years, we have maintained considerable operational capacity in Kidepo and across Karamoja, working every day alongside the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to strengthen this landscape.
One lesson has become very clear along the way.
You don’t just bring rhinos back. You make a landscape ready for them.
“Ready” in practice, it has meant:
Carrying out hydrological surveys and restoring waterholes
Managing tsetse flies
Providing tractors to maintain tracks and firebreaks
Building and improving ranger posts and operational infrastructure
Providing vehicles and field equipment
Training rangers
Installing and strengthening communications and power systems
Supporting Kidepo’s Joint Operations Command Centre
Leading the rollout of the UWA Digital Strategy and EarthRanger across Kidepo and Karamoja
Working with communities and partners across the landscape
A coalition effort
None of this happens alone. Northern Rangelands Trust supported the sanctuary fencing, while a much wider coalition is helping strengthen Kidepo and Karamoja. It includes the EU NaturAfrica programme, Global Conservation, Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, Wild Landscapes International, Connected Conservation Foundation, the Forest Management Department, and the Wildlife Research & Training Institute Kenya, among many others.
Our partnership with the UWA continues to grow from strength to strength, and together we have achieved so much.
It’s not only about rhinos
Rhino conservation isn’t only about rhinos. It’s about everything around them:
A fence that works
A waterhole with water
A trained ranger
A maintained firebreak
A vehicle ready to respond
A working radio
A ranger post with power
EarthRanger connecting the field to an operations room
A team ready to act
Put all those things together and something extraordinary becomes possible: you can bring rhinos home.
Looking ahead
Five years of sustained UCF operational capacity in Kidepo. Years of preparation and partnership. And now, the rhinos are back.
The next challenge? Helping them thrive.
DONATE HERE: https://www.justgiving.com/charity/ugandacf
Happy World Rhino Day from Uganda!
You don’t just bring rhinos back. You make a landscape ready for them.
“Ready” in practice, it has meant:
Carrying out hydrological surveys and restoring waterholes
Managing tsetse flies
Providing tractors to maintain tracks and firebreaks
Building and improving ranger posts and operational infrastructure
Providing vehicles and field equipment
Training rangers
Installing and strengthening communications and power systems
Supporting Kidepo’s Joint Operations Command Centre
Leading the rollout of the UWA Digital Strategy and EarthRanger across Kidepo and Karamoja
Working with communities and partners across the landscape
A coalition effort
None of this happens alone. Northern Rangelands Trust supported the sanctuary fencing, while a much wider coalition is helping strengthen Kidepo and Karamoja. It includes the EU NaturAfrica programme, Global Conservation, Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, Wild Landscapes International, Connected Conservation Foundation, the Forest Management Department, and the Wildlife Research & Training Institute Kenya, among many others.
Our partnership with the UWA continues to grow from strength to strength, and together we have achieved so much.
It’s not only about rhinos
Rhino conservation isn’t only about rhinos. It’s about everything around them:
A fence that works
A waterhole with water
A trained ranger
A maintained firebreak
A vehicle ready to respond
A working radio
A ranger post with power
EarthRanger connecting the field to an operations room
A team ready to act
Put all those things together and something extraordinary becomes possible: you can bring rhinos home.
Looking ahead
Five years of sustained UCF operational capacity in Kidepo. Years of preparation and partnership. And now, the rhinos are back.
The next challenge? Helping them thrive.
DONATE HERE: https://www.justgiving.com/charity/ugandacf
Happy World Rhino Day from Uganda!
