White rhinoceros - Population & distribution

Two subspecies at opposite ends of the extinction scale

Previous Population and Distribution
The white rhino was found in two different regions of Africa in the 19th century. The northern white rhinoceros occurred in southern Chad, the Central African Republic, southwestern Sudan, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and northwestern Uganda.

As late as 1960, there were more than 2,000 northern white rhinos remaining. However widespread poaching decimated the population and in 1984 only about 15 individuals survived. Under a strict regime of protection in Garamba National Park, DRC, this subspecies increased to around 30 individuals by 1993. Today, however, only 4 individuals remain.

In the late nineteenth century, the southern white rhino was considered extinct, but in 1895 a small population, probably less than 100 individuals, was discovered in the Umfolozi-Hluhluwe region in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.

Current Population and Distribution
Northern white rhinos are now found only in Garamba National Park in north-eastern DRC, although there are unconfirmed reports of a few survivors in southern Sudan.

After more than a century of protection, southern white rhinos now number about 14,538, confined to protected areas and private ranches, mainly in southern Africa. Classified as Near Threatened, they are now the only non-endangered rhinos. South Africa remains the stronghold for these rhinos, with smaller populations having been re-introduced to Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. Southern white rhinos have also been introduced to Kenya, Zambia, and Cote d’Ivoire.

See map below: