Where to see Black Rhino in Rwanda

Quick facts about Black Rhino

Akagera National Park on Rwanda’s border with Tanzania offers the country’s only extensive area of viable habit for black rhinos. In the late 1970s it held some 50 rhinos. However, the park’s steady decline, exacerbated by civil conflict during the 1990s, saw the species eradicated by 2007 – alongside many other larger mammals. In 2010, African Parks took over management and began an ambitious restocking programme. Eighteen black rhinos were translocated to Akagera from South Africa in 2017, and another five arrived from Europe in 2019. This reintroduction has proved highly successful, with no losses to poaching. As of 2023, there are 28 black rhinos in the park.

Rwanda: black rhino hot spots

Visitors to Rwanda can see black rhinos in Akagera National Park. This protects Central Africa’s largest wetland, and is the one part of this otherwise hilly and populous country that still offers enough suitable habitat to support the species. As of 2023, some 28 black rhinos roam the park, alongside at least 30 white rhinos. Both species have returned here courtesy of a reintroduction programme that began in 2017, and this is one of the few places in Africa where you might see them interacting. The rehabilitation of Akagera under African Parks has been a great success story. A safari here now offers a chance of encountering all the Big Five, plus a wealth of birdlife, with boat trips and hot air balloon rides enhancing the experience.