Six white rhinos to be translocated from KwaZulu Natal to the Okavango Delta

update (20 May 2013): &Beyond has announced that six translocated rhino have been officially released into the Okavango Delta in Botswana!

update (12 March 2013): The translocation of the six white rhinos from the &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve to the Okavango Delta in Botswana began in February 2013 and is still under way.

In the first ever private game reserve donation of rhino, luxury experiential travel company &Beyond has earmarked six white rhino to be translocated from &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, located within easy reach of the Indian Ocean coastline and the famous iSimangaliso Wetland Park in northern KwaZulu Natal (South Africa), to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. From October 2012, game scouts from Botswana will travel to the &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve to undergo intensive tracking and monitoring training, as they are not familiar with white rhino behaviour in the southern part of the Okavango Delta. In terms of veterinary regulations, the rhinos will be quarantined at an isolated facility for the specified period after capture, before being transported to the Okavango Delta via Maun.  On arrival, the animals will be held in a specially prepared boma until local vets and land managers are confident that they have recovered from their journey.
The actual translocation process is set to begin in February 2013 and will end with the final release of the six rhinos scheduled to take place in April 2013.