South Africa sends 6 black rhinos to Chad, restoring species

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa plans to send six black rhinos to a national park in Chad next year, restoring a critically endangered species that was last seen in the landlocked African country in the late 1980s.

The non-profit group African Parks said Tuesday that the rhinos will go to Chad’s Zakouma National Park, which lies south of the Sahara desert and north of Central African rainforests.

The group, which manages Zakouma and 10 other conservation areas in Africa, describes the Chad-bound rhinos as a “founder population,” reflecting hopes that rhino numbers will increase there.

The environment ministers of South Africa and Chad on Sunday signed an agreement providing for the rhino transfer.

African Parks earlier this year relocated 18 black rhinos to Akagera, a Rwandan park that it manages.