Thirteen years ago, Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX; NYSE:GOLD) president and CEO Mark Bristow initiated a program to reintroduce the white rhinoceros into Garamba National Park in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The species was last seen there in 2006.
Now the plan has come to fruition with the introduction of 15 white rhinos to the park.
The rhino arrived by air from South Africa last week and were released into an environment where they can live safely.
The environment for them too over a decade to create. Professional staff and qualified veterinarians will monitor their acclimatization.
Barrick was the lead donor in the relocation effort, but the project also received the support of African Parks and Garamba National Park, the oldest wildlife park on the continent and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The mining company provided more than US$2.5 million for tracking collars, fuel for observation planes, rescue and rehabilitation programs as well as improvements to infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
Garamba park was one of the last places to find the now-extinct northern white rhino in the wild.
The newly released rhinos are the southern subspecies and are themselves near-threatened.
Rhinos play an important role in regulating the park’s ecosystem because they create and maintain grazing lawns that support other fauna and flora.
