First Rhinos in Massive African Airlift Released in Botswana
It's the first stage of the world’s largest rhino airlift, meant to protect a dwindling population of the animals.
Ten rhinos have been safely released in northern Botswana, after a long journey that entailed a cargo plane, a crane, dozens of soldiers, and six weeks in quarantine.
The animals were captured from an overpopulated park in South Africa and were moved to an undisclosed location in a sparsely populated reserve in Botswana last week that is better protected from poachers.
The relocation project, called Rhinos Without Borders, aims to move 100 rhinos by next year, the largest attempted airlift of rhinos in history.
The first ten were released on April 28, after touching down in the largest aircraft ever to land at Botswana's Maun International Airport, an Ilyushin 76, according to Dereck Joubert, one of the project's leaders.
“It was a
