• Donation
  • About Us
  • Career
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Friday, July 1, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Africa Eco News
18 °c
Nairobi
  • Climate Change
  • Pollution
  • Energy
  • Wildlife
  • Environment
  • Infographic News
    • HEALTH
    • SPORTS
    • GAMES
      • CODEWORD
      • Sudoku
      • Simple Crossword
    • TODAY
      • HOROSCOPE
      • Quote Of The Day
      • Thought Of The Day
      • Today In History
      • TODAY’S BUSINESS TIP
      • Today’s Currency Exchange
      • Today’s Life Lesson
      • Today’s Personal Finance Tip
      • Today’s Prayer
      • Today’s Stock Market
    • NEWS KIOSK
    • PHOTO GALLERIES/SLIDES
  • AFRICA ECO NEWS TV
  • Climate Change
  • Pollution
  • Energy
  • Wildlife
  • Environment
  • Infographic News
    • HEALTH
    • SPORTS
    • GAMES
      • CODEWORD
      • Sudoku
      • Simple Crossword
    • TODAY
      • HOROSCOPE
      • Quote Of The Day
      • Thought Of The Day
      • Today In History
      • TODAY’S BUSINESS TIP
      • Today’s Currency Exchange
      • Today’s Life Lesson
      • Today’s Personal Finance Tip
      • Today’s Prayer
      • Today’s Stock Market
    • NEWS KIOSK
    • PHOTO GALLERIES/SLIDES
  • AFRICA ECO NEWS TV
No Result
View All Result
Africa Eco News
No Result
View All Result
Home Uncategorized

Uganda strives to increase rhino numbers in face of extinction

by admin
September 13, 2016
in Uncategorized
0
0
SHARES
33
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A rhino wandering in the wilderness. Photo courtesy of PEXELS.
By Ronald Ssekandi
NAKASONGOLA, Uganda, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) — Obama is the name of a naughty white rhino. Like a teenager, Obama is discovering himself, throwing up tantrums. He has just broken a radio repeater and his care taker, Angie Genade, is angry at him. But like the love of a mother, Genade understands the stage Obama is going through.
“He is a very beautiful rhino, a very healthy big boy and has just started behaving like a big male rhino should be behaving. He has just found his own territory,” Genade told Xinhua in a recent interview.
“He is just coming into his teens and becoming sexually mature and starting to look for rhinos to mate with, his behavior is perfect,” she added. Obama was the first white rhino born in Uganda in 2009 after close to 30 years of extinction in the east African country.
Obama takes his name from the American President Barrack Obama. The rhino, has an American mother and a Kenyan father, just like Obama, the president.The rhino’s father was brought in from Solio Ranch in Kenya in 2005, while its mother was donated by the Disney Animal Kingdom in the U.S.
Obama was the first rhino born at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in the central Ugandan district of Nakasongola, over 170km north of the capital Kampala. The Sanctuary was started by the Rhino Fund in a bid to restore rhinos in the east African country where they had become extinct because of decades of war. In 1978, the country had 200 rhinos but by 1982 poaching and insecurity cleared them all.
The conservation program started with six rhinos, three male and three females. Obama was the first to be born. Since then the number has grown to over 15 rhinos and two births are due later this month and in January next year.
“What is interesting about these two, they are Ugandan rhinos. Our project has reached a second phase where our own rhinos that were born in Uganda are now actually producing,” she said.
The sanctuary has become a popular tourist stop-over with the numbers of visitors growing to 13,000 annually from the 400 registered in 2007, according to Genade, who is the director of the sanctuary.
Genade argued that the conservation project has showed that the number of rhinos can be increased provided there is dedicated effort. Over 80 rangers patrol the fence, guard the gates, and monitor the rhinos 24 hours a day. The sanctuary management also has a good relation with the neighboring communities which are allowed to graze on the ranch.
The rhino horns are also microchipped such that if a poacher is arrested with the horns, the origin of the horn can be traced back. “It is really a method of monitoring where rhino horn is going and whose rhino horn has been confiscated from a poacher,” said Genade.
Genade argued that although there is increased effort to conserve rhinos in Africa, the targeted market for rhino horns must be involved in the efforts. She said Asia, which is the main market for illicit trade in rhino horns must be involved in changing cultural beliefs surrounding the horns.
Rhino horns are reputed to cure diseases and cast out evil spirits in children besides being regarded as a powerful aphrodisiac. Genade said countries can introduce rhino conservation in their education system whereby children are taught why it is important to conserve the rhinos.
“If you target the right people now with the right information and try and break that cultural barrier,” she said, noting that 20 years from now, there will be a big difference.
She said top government officials, corporate companies and celebrities, who people look up to, can also play a lead role in urging the population to avoid buying rhino horns.

Help us report stories that expose environmental degradation, deforestation, pollution, poaching and ivory trade, illegal fishing, dumping of toxic waste, e-waste and plastics, illegal mining, climate change and impacts of global warming on different sectors of the economy and communities, not only in Africa, but also across the globe. While traditional news reporting is losing its relevance, serious investigative journalism requires more than basic journalistic skills. To do this we require a lot of resources.
You can either BECOME A SPONSOR or MAKE A CONTRIBUTION


Nelson Mandela once said: “A critical, independent, and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy. The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of government officials. It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and inquiring without fear or favor. It must enjoy the protection of the constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens.”

If you like our journalism support us to continue bringing you groundbreaking and agenda setting stories.

admin

admin

Next Post

IGAD members seek to hasten stabilization in Somalia

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Kenya is poised to be a global leader in clean energy and climate action US Secretary Blinken told

Kenya is poised to be a global leader in clean energy and climate action US Secretary Blinken told

1 year ago

Natural gas and renewables make up most of 2018 electric capacity additions in US

4 years ago

Popular News

    Connect with us

    Newsletter








    Recent Posts

    • What to expect at the UN Environment Assembly this week
    • COP26 ends with Glasgow Climate Pact, a “bridge” to transformative climate action
    • PACJA: COP26 will offer nothing to African people
    • COP26: Surprise deal as US-China pledge ambitious climate action
    • OPINION | Green Industrial Revolution required to get the world to zero carbon emissions by 2050

    Like & Follow us :)

    Share

    About Us

    Africa Eco News

    Shinning light on environmental degradation and conservation in Africa

    • Donation
    • About Us
    • Career
    • Advertise
    • Contact

    Copyright 2018. Africa Eco News. All rights reserved.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Climate Change
    • Pollution
    • Energy
    • Wildlife
    • Environment
    • Infographic News
      • HEALTH
      • SPORTS
      • GAMES
        • CODEWORD
        • Sudoku
        • Simple Crossword
      • TODAY
        • HOROSCOPE
        • Quote Of The Day
        • Thought Of The Day
        • Today In History
        • TODAY’S BUSINESS TIP
        • Today’s Currency Exchange
        • Today’s Life Lesson
        • Today’s Personal Finance Tip
        • Today’s Prayer
        • Today’s Stock Market
      • NEWS KIOSK
      • PHOTO GALLERIES/SLIDES
    • AFRICA ECO NEWS TV

    Copyright 2018. Africa Eco News. All rights reserved.

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password?

    Fill the forms bellow to register

    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In