Congo to Evacuate 5 Rare Rhinos

KINSHASA, Congo —  Five of the few northern white rhinoceroses left in the wild will be evacuated from Congo to prevent poachers from wiping them out, conservationists said Saturday.

Fewer than 10 of the rhinos are believed to remain in the wild and with heavily armed poachers carrying out frequent raids in northeastern Congo, flying the animals to sanctuary in Kenya is deemed the only option to guarantee their survival.

“Although we’ve all been against the idea of the rhinos going elsewhere, it is now necessary,” said Kes Hillman Smith, head of monitoring at Congo’s Garamba National Park. The government approved the move this month.

“Although huge efforts are being put into conservation, it is not working fast enough,” she said. “The poachers are still winning, and there are not enough rhinos to last out at this rate.”

The number of rhinos spotted in park surveys has plummeted from 30 in April 2003 to four at the end of last year. Nine, including a pregnant female and a calf, were found dead in 2004.

Poachers usually hack off rhino horns, which are valued in East Asia for medicinal purposes, and leave the carcasses.

There are reports of other rhinos outside the park, but the total left in the wild is thought to be fewer than 10, making the northern white rhinos the most endangered large mammal. Ten more live in captivity but are not reproducing.

“The idea is to hold, safeguard and increase the population so we can eventually return more than we took out when the park is secure again,” Hillman Smith said, adding that three females and two males would be moved within a month.