There are estimated to be less than 5,000 black rhino left in the wild, and Ol Pejeta is home to 102 of them. But by 2017, we project (and hope) that this population will be 118.
Our wildlife team delivered some good news this week, when they calculated that our female black rhinos would produce an impressive 16 calves over the next three years.
Every black rhino birth here on the Conservancy is cause for great celebration. These critically endangered mammals can live to be 35 to 40 years old in the wild, and breed usually every three years, starting from age seven.
Our team drew up a chart of all the breeding black rhino females, and calculated their expected number of births according to individual historic performance (some are slower breeders than others), normal breeding rate and ideal breeding rate. They then took into account an average loss of three animals a year. Here is a summary of that chart:
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
| Adult Females | 31 | 33 | 36 | 39 |
| Expected no. of calves | 7 | 9 | 8 | 5 |
The chart features our youngest mature female, Jaziri, who is eight years old and had her first calf in the third quarter of 2013. And our oldest breeding female, Carol, who is still going strong at 34 years old, and has had eight calves since 1990.
We need your help to make sure that our rhinos have the best chance of reaching the population target of 118. Take action now by donating what you can to ensure our rhinos can help bring this species back from the brink.