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Kenyan firm seeks to create space for black rhinos

Xinhua, February 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

A Kenyan state-owned firm has agreed to set up a new conservancy on 20,000 acres of land bordering East Africa's largest black rhino sanctuary, Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy, for integrated wildlife, livestock and tourism operations, officials said on Monday.

Ol Pejeta CEO Richard Vigne said the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) will construct Mutara Conservancy to create more space for Ol Pejeta's expanding black rhino population in support of the national black rhino program.

"As the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa, we are rapidly reaching our carrying capacity. Consequently, in support of national objectives, we will need to secure new habitat in future as our rhino populations expand. We hope that in time the Mutara Conservancy can be used to supply these requirements," Vigne said.

He said the proposed conservancy will assist to manage these operations, in a move that sees the creation of a private-public sector partnership working to maximize the productivity of the land, whilst conserving wildlife at the same time.

Mutara Ranch lies to the north of Ol Pejeta. An archetypal Laikipia landscape, its rich grasslands and thick bush are home to many of the species that are also found on Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

"Elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, giraffe, antelope and zebra can all be found here, as well as the occasional pack of African wild dogs. Yet, until recently, this land was not managed with tourism and conservation in mind," Vigne said.

The Mutara Conservancy, with a significant investment from the Monarch Group who have set up the luxury Jambo Mutara Camp- Laikipia on the property, is well on its way to becoming a self- sufficient operation.

"Integrated to Ol Pejeta and linked to it through wildlife corridors, migratory species such as wild dog and elephant will be permitted to roam across the Mutara Conservancy at will," he said.

Black rhino populations in Africa have been decimated from approximately 100,000 to just 2,500 individuals as a result of poaching in the 1970s and 1980s.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a 90,000-acre game reserve boasting a wide array of wildlife, including the endangered black and white rhinos, elephants, leopards, lions and chimpanzees.

Since late 2009, it has also been home to three of the last five northern white rhinos left in the world. Endi