Rhino numbers in Ngorongoro exceed 50

Arusha. The population of the critically endangered rhinos at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) has increased to more than 50, according to the Chief Conservator Freddy Manongi.

Most of them are under 24 hour camera surveillance within the crater, an iconic site in the area which remains one of the leading tourist destinations in the country.

Dr Manongi, who was briefing the media on the state of  wildlife conservation in Ngorongoro, said the numbers of the highly endangered rhinos there has increased due to reproduction.

One of the rhinos under protection, nicknamed Fausta, is believed to be one of the oldest in the world. It is aged 54 years and has been on a special care. 

The animal has a market value  of Sh 760 million, he explained.

The Chief Conservator attributed the growing numbers of the animals, whose population was decimated decades ago, due their horns, to intensified patrols.

The Ngorongoro crater, an amphitheatre-like caldera, is currently the home of the rhinos re-introduced some years ago.

Accounts had it that the famous crater had a total of 108 rhinos in 1968, later dropping sharply to 25 in 1977.

Re-introduction of the rhinos specifically in the crater began in the 1990s through the support of the international conservation bodies.