Tanzanian gov't forms investigative team on dead rhino

Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Sunday the government has formed an investigative commission to establish the procedure used in transferring a black rhino, which subsequently died.

The rhino named John mysteriously disappeared from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and died in August in the Sasakawa Black Rhino Sanctuary in the Grumeti-Serengeti game reserve.

Winding up his official visit to Arusha region, Majaliwa said the investigative commission will also collect the DNA of the remains of the rhino and compare the DNA with that of the rhino's calves in the Ngorongoro crater.

"The DNA tests will establish whether the horns of the dead rhino which were given to me belonged to the rhino that was transferred from Ngorongoro," Majaliwa told a public rally in the tourist town of Arusha.

He said the government spent millions of shillings to buy rhinos from South Africa and translocate them in Tanzania.

"We must protect our wildlife for the benefit of our people," said Majaliwa.

Jumanne Maghembe, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, told the prime minister on December 9 that when the rhino was transferred from Ngorongoro to Grumeti Reserve in December 2015 it had 26 calves.

The rhino which was reportedly sold to Grumeti Reserve for 100,000 U.S. dollars under mysterious circumstances.

Maghembe said the rhino was removed from Ngorongoro to minimize what he described as a problem of inbreeding within the crater. He also handed over to the prime minister the rhino's two horns weighing 3.6 kilograms and 2.3 kilograms, respectively. Endit