Kirinyaga: Kenya Wildlife Service has tagged 74 black rhinos at Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary in the first 10 days of the country's largest rhino ear-notching operation, with over 100 animals expected to receive tracking devices before the 15-day exercise concludes. The operation, which began on November 11 at Tsavo West National Park, is preparing rhinos for release into an expanded 3,000-square-kilometre range when sanctuary fences are removed by the end of the year.
According to Kenya News Agency, Dr Isaac Lekolool, Senior Assistant Director, Veterinary and Capture Services at KWS, stated that the operation aims to individually identify and track nearly all rhinos at Ngulia before the sanctuary boundaries are eliminated. 'We are doing both ear-notching and also fitting the rhinos with tracking devices. We try to achieve at least a 60% individual identification of the rhinos. This helps our security teams when they are doing their monitoring to ensure that when we are talking about the actual numbers, we are talking about close to the actual numbers,' said Dr Lekolool.
The Ngulia operation targets close to 70% coverage of the sanctuary's rhino population, with each animal being fitted with LoRaWAN ear tags and VHF transmitters. These devices will enable rangers to monitor movements in near-real-time once rhinos begin dispersing across Tsavo West National Park. The expansion will increase rhino habitat from the current 92 square kilometres at Ngulia to over 3,000 square kilometres, making it one of the largest single-range expansions in Kenya's conservation history.
The technology-driven approach represents a shift from the physical containment that has characterised rhino conservation in Kenya for over three decades. The operation forms part of the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion (KRRE) Initiative, which aims to address overcrowding in existing sanctuaries that has led to increased territorial conflicts among rhinos. Dr Lekolool highlighted that cramped conditions in small sanctuaries are reducing breeding rates despite successful conservation efforts over the past three decades.
Kenya's rhino population has grown from a low of 381 animals in 1990 to over 1,000 in 2024, but most remain confined to small, intensively protected sanctuaries established during the poaching crisis of the 1970s and 1980s. The country had approximately 20,000 rhinos before poaching reduced numbers to near-extinction levels by 1990. Dr Lekolool explained that achieving 100% identification of rhinos remains impossible due to safety concerns, and the 60% threshold balances conservation needs with animal welfare, ensuring accurate population monitoring without endangering vulnerable individuals.
Jamie Gaymer, CEO of the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion Initiative, said his organisation is supporting KWS by constructing water pans and erecting electric fencing throughout the expanded sanctuary. He emphasized that the initiative's broader economic and ecological objectives extend beyond species conservation, aiming to drive employment and investment into local economies.
According to KWS Director General Prof. Erustus Kanga, the programme aims to increase Kenya's rhino population to 2,000 by 2037 and 3,900 by 2050, while expanding rhino habitat to cover over 34,000 square kilometres, which is nearly six percent of Kenya's landmass. Prof. Kanga described the initiative as more than a conservation project, calling it a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Kenya's ecological and socioeconomic landscape.
Dr. Lekolool said mobile veterinary units will continue monitoring rhino health after the fence removal, using a 'One Health approach' that tracks diseases across wildlife, livestock, and human populations. The comprehensive health monitoring system extends beyond rhinos to all wildlife in the expanded range, creating an integrated disease surveillance network.
The Kenya Rhino Range Expansion Initiative projects that the programme will create over 18,000 jobs and generate $45 million in local conservancy revenue by 2030, while adding $15 million annually in tax income. The initiative involves partnerships between KWS, the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association, the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, private conservancies, and international conservation experts. The 15-day operation is scheduled to conclude by the end of November, after which preparations for fence removal will begin ahead of the planned December release. Once the barriers come down, Ngulia's rhinos will begin dispersing across Tsavo West National Park, marking the beginning of what conservationists hope will be a new era of sustainable rhino population growth across expanded ranges that mirror the species' historical distribution in Kenya.