Tanzania

Key Milestones

1. We've gone a long way since we sent the first Eastern black rhino to South Africa in 1995. The descendants of that male rhino were transferred since then to other areas of Africa such as Tanzania and Rwanda.

2. The Aspinall Foundation has reintroduced in total 8 Eastern black rhino in the wild from Europe, five of which in Tanzania.

3. From the rhinos released back to the wild we have witnessed 25 successful births.

Did you know that...

1. The name Rhino comes from 'Rhinoceros' which means "nose horn" referring to the giant horn that grows from their snouts. The reason why rhinos are often victims of illegal pouching is because the horn is still used in traditional folk medicine especially in Asia.

2. There are 5 existing rhino species, two African - black and white - and three Asian - Sumatran, Javan and Indian. Then there are subspecies, like the Eastern black rhino. Black, Sumatran and Javan rhinos are listed by IUCN as ‘critically endangered’ and population in the wild is under threat.

3. The names black rhino and white rhino are actually misleading because their colour is always grey! ‘White’ is the translation of English explorers from the Afrikaans term ‘wyd’ which means wide and was referred to the shape of the rhino lip, while black rhinos have a more pointy lip and were called like this in contrast to white!

4. The eyesight of rhinos is very poor but they have a very strong sense of smell. If you are standing still at a distance of 30m a rhino wouldn’t see you but probably would perceive your presence from your smell.

5. Poaching is one of the greatest threats for rhinos. Their horn is made of keratin, like our fingernails and hair, and it continues to grow during their life. Unfortunately it is so valuable that illegal poachers chase rhinos to cut their horns and most of the times this leaves them to bleed out and die.