January 7, 2026
The day is finally here. The dream has finally come true! Rhinos are back into Uganda’s wild!
7th January 2026 is a momentous day in the Uganda’s conservation history. Uganda Wildlife Authority has started the translocation of Rhinos from the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to the Ajai Wildlife Reserve. We can now proudly say, Uganda has rhinos in her wild (and not in captivity)
Uganda was a rhino haven until…
Uganda was a rhino territory but civil strife in the 1970s and 1980s that affected security in protected areas saw massive poaching in the parks with the biggest victim being the rhinos. The last rhino in Uganda is believed to have been seen in 1983 in Kidepo Valley National Park.
After restoration of order and security in the country, a dream to have rhinos back in Uganda was birthed. And so the journey to have rhino’s back in Uganda’s protected areas started in 2005 with establishing of the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to have it as a holding place for the rhinos where they flourish and breed, until the time of relocating them to the bigger parks and reserves.
Over the years Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary has served as a favorite spot to stop and tick off this member of the big five, especially for travelers going for safari to Murchison Falls National Park. The experience at Ziwa has been that you take a guided walk to the rhinos. The introduction of the rhinos into the protected areas will make the big game experience even better as tourists will be looking for the rhinos on a drive along with the rest of the wildlife.
Why are the rhinos being reintroduced into Ajai Wildlife Reserve?
Ajai was historically established (1962) as the sanctuary for white rhinos. It is therefore a natural home of rhinos. Also, given that Ajai is a small sanctuary, with a size of 148 square kilometers, it will easier to monitor the rhinos.
However, the translocation is not stopping with Ajai, other parks in the region will get rhinos and hopefully Murchison Falls National Park will be next.
