The southern white rhino, one of two subspecies of white rhino, is now considered endangered with about 20,000 individuals remaining, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In 2018, four out of six relocated black rhinos died a few months after arriving in Chad. Wildlife transfers are not without risks. 'This will provide an opportunity for them to grow in a safe environment from South Africa where three are killed per day by poachers,' said the park's regional manager Jes Gruner. Later they will be allowed to roam the expansive park, authorities said. The animals were transported in a chartered Boeing 747 and were placed in two grassy enclosures - each the size of a football stadium - after arriving in the park. 'We had to tranquillize them to reduce their stress, which is itself risky, and monitor them,' said African Parks' CEO Peter Fearnhead, calling the project a success.

The rhinos began their 40-hour journey to the new home in Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda following months of preparation, said African Parks, a charity headed by Britain's Prince Harry which is involved in the exercise. Once plentiful across sub-Saharan Africa, white rhino suffered first from hunting by European settlers, and later a poaching epidemic which largely wiped them out. The majestic animals, which can weigh up to two tonnes, travelled some 3,400 kilometres (2,100 miles) from South Africa's Phinda Private Game Reserve as part of a programme to replenish the species' population, decimated by poaching since the 1970s.

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