Baby rhinos named, adopted in bid to curb poaching

Kenya: Two young rhinos at the Solio Wildlife Conservancy were on Monday named in a new soft-power approach to the conservation of the endangered species.

In an event organised by Rhino Watch, a conservation group, and witnessed by foreign and local media, pupils from neighbouring Muthuini and Labura primary schools named the two calves and adopted them as pets.

They will regularly visit the young rhinos to observe their progress.

A three-month-old black rhino was named Kinza while a younger white rhino was named Kent.

Rhino Watch Safari Lodge Director Frank Wirth, who organised the event in conjunction with the Kenya Tourism Board offices in Kenya and Europe, said the new initiative was meant to create a generation of the conservancy’s neighbours who see rhinos as part of their heritage to be conserved for posterity.

The initiative that aims for the hearts of the newly recruited conservationists will include a programme of rhino conservation education in local schools.

“We are trying to humanise the rhinos so that we can create an emotional bond between them and our young neighbours,” Mr Wirth said.

Killing of rhinos for their prized horns has been a deadly game between poachers and rangers. The high price offered for their horns in black markets in Asia has caused poachers to risk life and limb for the trophies.

The conservancy has invested heavily in security, with rangers literally living in the park to monitor the animals.

Despite these efforts, three rhinos have been killed since January, the conservancy’s head of security, Benson Irungu Kimani, said.