How to bring back rhinos and elephants without trouble
More than 600 white rhinos have been moved into protected areas across Africa. A conservation ecologist explains what makes translocations succeed.
PANM — Africa is moving its big animals home. African Parks has moved more than 600 southern white rhinos into protected areas across the continent since 2023, and Malawi moved 263 elephants from Liwonde to Kasungu National Park in 2022 to restore a population hit by poaching. Adam Hart, professor of conservation ecology at the University of Gloucestershire, explains in The Conversation what makes such moves work.
What the evidence says
- A study of 682 black rhinos in 191 moves found that animals added to existing populations died more often in their first year than those used to start new ones.
- A review of 550 translocations found social factors were weighed far less consistently than biological ones.
- Disrupting elephant family groups can affect behaviour for years.
- Flying rhinos slung under helicopters, which looks alarming, appears to be physiologically safer than it seems.
Learning from Kasungu
After the Malawi move, some elephants wandered beyond the park and conflict with farming communities rose. The response, GPS collars, rapid-response teams and a 133km electric fence, cut recorded conflict incidents from 690 in 2022 to 94 in 2025, according to IFAW.
The checklist
1. Check the release site has enough food, water and habitat, and how many animals it can support. 2. Provide strong security: anti-poaching teams, dogs and reliable communications. 3. Plan for population growth before the first animal arrives. 4. Monitor after release and respond fast to conflict. 5. Put local communities' needs at the centre, not only the animals'.
Done well, translocation is how Africa is putting rhinos and elephants back where they belong.
Source: The Conversation, 5 October 2026.
