ACS assists in largest rhino relocation conservation project
29 / 11 / 2024
Photo: Air Charter Service
Air Charter Service (ACS) has assisted in what is understood to be the world’s largest rhinoceros relocation conservation project.
Last month, in conjunction with a major South African conservation and relocation company, ACS helped in the transportation of 39 white rhinoceroses from Namibia to Dallas, US, for three specific breeding programmes to aid the conservation of the unique genetics of the country’s species.
The rhinos were transported on a Boeing 747 freighter from Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), with a stop at Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) for fuel.
Lyndee du Toit, chief executive of ACS Africa, commented: “The purpose of this project is to responsibly and ethically conserve the endangered white rhino population and preserve the Namibian rhinos’ unique genetics against poaching. It is the largest translocation of rhino ever undertaken and required many months of careful planning, working in close collaboration with the conservation and relocation company and the airline.
“Over the past few years we have been involved in several flights transporting these magnificent creatures, so are well-versed in what is required from our side. In 2021 we arranged a charter to move 30 rhinos from a South African reserve to their new home in Rwanda, in what was then the largest single translocation project. This latest flight, with 39, becomes the most rhinos ever to have flown on one aircraft.
“There was an intricate load plan to fit all the oversize containers on board the Boeing B747, but once aboard, the team of veterinarians were able to personally look after the creatures for the duration of the flight to the United States. A fuel stop in Sal, Cape Verde, was necessary due to the rhinos combined weight of 80 tons, before landing at Dallas Fort Worth Airport, where they were unloaded under the full supervision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, before their onward journeys.
“The rhinos have all now been released from their quarantine bomas and are doing well in their new environments.”
Last year, ACS helped non-profit conservation organisation African Parks to relocate 16 southern white rhinos to Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from a private game reserve in South Africa.
