Mozambique: Historic return of rhinos to Mozambique
Zinave National Park in Mozambique is set to become the first “big five” National Park in the country and the host of the first founder population of the critically endangered black rhino and the near threatened white rhino.
After becoming locally extinct more than 40 years ago, diversified resources company, Exxaro Resources, and southern African NGO, Peace Parks Foundation, are spearheading the project to reintroduce both rhino species to the National Park in 2022. Zinave National Park, which is co-managed between Mozambique's National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) and Peace Parks, is situated in the district of Mambone near the Save river in the Inhambane Province of Mozambique.
Since 2016 an intensive rewilding programme has reintroduced more than 2 300 game animals representing 14 different species into Zinave National Park. This has included rewilding the park with buffalo, elephant and leopard. In September 2021, the first lions were also recorded in Zinave after a 40-year absence.
