{"id":124913,"date":"2025-11-18T10:03:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T10:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/11\/18\/kws-launches-largest-ever-black-rhino-ear-notching-operation\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T10:03:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T10:03:59","slug":"kws-launches-largest-ever-black-rhino-ear-notching-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/kws-launches-largest-ever-black-rhino-ear-notching-operation\/","title":{"rendered":"KWS launches largest-ever black rhino ear-notching operation"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 18 \u2014 The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has commenced a 15-day ear-notching and tagging campaign at Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary and Tsavo West National Park set to have over 100 black rhinos targeted.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The agency said in a statement on Tuesday 100 black rhinos will be fitted with LoRaWAN eartags and VHF transmitters over a 15-day period to enhance monitoring, security, and population management.<\/p>\n

The campaign, supported by partners under the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion (KRRE) initiative, is the country\u2019s largest single rhino ear-notching and tagging operation. <\/p>\n

KWS Senior Assistant Director for Veterinary and Capture Services, Dr. Isaac Lekolool, said the operation demonstrates KWS\u2019s technical and logistical capacity for large-scale wildlife interventions and underscores its commitment to science-based conservation.<\/p>\n

The initiative comes as Kenya celebrates a remarkable rebound in its black rhino population. <\/p>\n

The 2021 national wildlife census recorded 897 black rhinos in the country, up from a low of 381 in 1990 following decades of rampant poaching. <\/p>\n

By 2024, Kenya\u2019s black rhino population surpassed 1,000, a milestone hailed as a global conservation success.<\/p>\n

With the population growing, authorities have identified overcrowding and territorial conflicts in existing sanctuaries as emerging challenges. <\/p>\n

Restoration efforts <\/h2>\n

In response, the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion Initiative seeks to restore rhinos across their historic range, creating connected habitats in Tsavo and Central Kenya and establishing one of the world\u2019s largest rhino habitats \u2014 over 34,000 km\u00b2, nearly six percent of Kenya\u2019s landmass.<\/p>\n

KWS Director General Prof. Erustus Kanga said the initiative will transform Kenya\u2019s ecological and socio-economic landscape. <\/p>\n

\u201cBy restoring black rhinos across their historic range, the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion Initiative represents a legacy of protection, prosperity, and unity \u2014 one that future generations will remember with admiration for the leaders, partners, and communities who made it possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The KRRE project also aims to contribute to Kenya\u2019s socio-economic growth by creating jobs, strengthening ecological integrity, and enhancing national pride. <\/p>\n

The ambitious plan targets growing the country\u2019s black rhino population to over 2,000 by 2037 and 3,900 by 2050, supporting global species recovery efforts.<\/p>\n

Through ear-notching and tagging, KWS seeks to manage Kenya\u2019s black rhinos as a meta-population, enabling safe movements between sub-populations across 17 conservation sites. <\/p>\n

The data collected will help rangers track individual animals, reduce conflicts, monitor genetic diversity, and protect the species from poaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis operation is more than a conservation milestone \u2014 it is a testament to Kenya\u2019s unwavering commitment to wildlife recovery and sustainable management,\u201d said KWS.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 18 \u2014 The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has commenced a 15-day ear-notching and tagging campaign at Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary and Tsavo West National Park set to have over 100 black rhinos targeted. The agency said in a statement on Tuesday 100 black rhinos will be fitted with LoRaWAN eartags and VHF transmitters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124913\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}