Introduction

On 10 June 2025 a chartered Boeing 747 touched down in Kigali carrying 70 southern white rhinos—South Africa-bred animals that completed a 3 400 km, 20-hour journey to Akagera National Park. The cross-continental move, arranged by African Parks and Rwanda Development Board under the Rhino Rewild initiative, more than triples Rwanda’s white-rhino population and establishes the largest founder herd yet moved in a single operation.

Why Rwanda’s Protection Succeeds

Akagera has spent the past 15 years hardening security with a 120-km electrified fence, drone and helicopter patrols, GPS-tagged high-value species and a 100-strong ranger-plus-K9 corps. These layered measures have prevented any rhino, lion or elephant losses to poaching since reintroductions began in 2010, giving Rwanda one of Africa’s rare safe havens for large mammals.

Akagera National Park

The rhinos were released into Akagera, a 1 122-km² savannah-and-wetland mosaic along Rwanda’s eastern frontier. Although state owned, the park has been co-managed by the Rwanda Development Board and African Parks since 2010 through the Akagera Management Company—a model that blends national-park status with the rapid, privately financed decision-making typical of a concession.

Cross-Continental Transport

Wildlife veterinarians darted each rhino, fitted horn transmitters and guided the two-ton animals into steel-reinforced crates. Crates were craned onto flat-bed trucks for the drive to King Shaka airport, then palletised inside the Boeing 747 where light sedation kept animals standing and stable. After landing in Kigali, a night-time police convoy delivered the load east to Akagera before first light.

Conservation Significance

Adding 70 unrelated individuals immediately boosts genetic diversity and creates a second robust stronghold outside South Africa, diluting poaching risk now concentrated in the species’ southern range. The move is the first large-scale deployment under African Parks’ Rhino Rewild plan to relocate 2 000 surplus captive-bred rhinos to secure sites, laying ground for future reintroductions across East and Central Africa.

Conclusion

We hope this article has illuminated the bold collaboration between the Rwanda Development Board, African Parks, and local communities that now safeguards a growing white-rhino population inside Akagera National Park. If you’re considering a journey to Rwanda and would like to witness these newly translocated rhinos—whether on a ranger-guided boat safari across Lake Ihema, a behind-the-scenes telemetry session with Akagera’s tracking team, or a community-run cultural walk in the park’s buffer zone—we’d be delighted to curate an itinerary. We can weave in visits to nearby conservation hubs such as Gishwati-Mukura’s re-emerging chimpanzee corridor or Volcanoes National Park’s mountain-gorilla research stations, ensuring your travel directly supports anti-poaching patrols, community livelihood projects, and long-term wildlife monitoring. Together, we can design a journey that aligns with your commitment to ethical encounters and tangible conservation impact.