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South African National Parks (SANParks) is half way through the implementation of a 12-month International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Save Our Species (SOS*) Covid-relief grant which was awarded in July 2021. Co-funded by the European Union**, this grant is helping to monitor critically endangered black rhino populations in three national parks. South Africa and Namibia are the only range states of the south-western black rhino Diceros bicornis bicornis. SANParks is the custodian of the vast majority of the South African populations in Addo Elephant, Mountain Zebra,Karoo and Mokala National Parks.

The project has enabled foot patrols, camera trap identification and/or aerial surveillance in the Addo Elephant, Karoo and Mountain Zebra National Parks. Furthermore, financial support has enabled the ear notching of calves before separation from their mothers at around 18-20 months of age. This ensures that rhinos are individually recognizable. Thus far, the funds have supported and enabled ear-notching operations in two parks, 21 fixed-wing flights, ranger foot patrols, the procurement of 30 new camera traps and ongoing servicing of existing and new cameras across the study sites.

These efforts contribute significantly to monthly rhino sightings databases, updating of identikits and report compilation. In addition, staff have been trained in field data collection application software.

These funds have enabled increased population monitoring and assessment of population vital rates for this threatened species. This information is then used to inform management decisions and conservation outcomes. Notching operations have increased the target of having rhino of notchable age individually marked from a baseline of 80% to 87% overall across the three populations. This is a significant increase, particularly since the number of notchable calves is constantly changing as animals reach notchable age throughout the year as they grow into the appropriate age classes.

In November 2021, representatives from IUCN and the EU conducted a field mission to Addo Elephant and Mountain Zebra National Parks to familiarise themselves with this project. In Addo, delegates were welcomed by SANParks staff who provided short presentations on the park, background to the project being funded and progress. Delegates were taken on a game drive through sections of Main Camp and Nyathi to experience first-hand the challenges of black rhino monitoring in subtropical thicket and mountainous terrain.

Delegates also visited Mountain Zebra National Park where they spent an enjoyable afternoon exploring the park and learning about black rhino monitoring operations. The delegation was thrilled with sightings of a black rhino while on a game drive.

* IUCN Save Our Species aims to improve the long-term survival prospects of threatened species. It also focuses on supporting the species habitats and working with the communities who share this habitat. It achieves success by funding and coordinating conservation projects into multiple initiatives across the globe.

** The Member States of the European Union have decided to link together their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders.

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union through IUCN Save Our Species. Its contents are the sole responsibility of South African National Parks and do not necessarily reflect the views of IUCN or the European Union.