President William Ruto, on Tuesday, December 9, presided over the launch of the expansive Tsavo West Rhino Sanctuary in Ngulia, Taita Taveta County.
The new sanctuary, spanning more than 3,200 square kilometres, is now the largest in the world, having started on a three-square-kilometre land size with three rhinos 40 years ago.
In his speech, President Ruto noted that for decades, the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary, covering only 92 square kilometres, has carried nearly 150 black rhinos, more than two-and-a-half times its capacity.
Across Kenya, more than 80% of black rhinos, Ruto said, live in overstocked sanctuaries, limiting Kenya’s ability to grow the national herd. This extreme congestion has suppressed breeding, intensified territorial conflict, reduced calf survival, and placed the rhino population under dangerous ecological stress.
The launch of the Tsavo West sanctuary is aimed at correcting the imbalance
With this expansion, the 150 rhinos in Ngulia will now merge with 50 rhinos in the Tsavo West Intensive Protection Zone to form a single founder population of 200 black rhinos, the largest black rhino population in Kenya.
The launch of Tsavo West Rhino Sanctuary, the head of state noted, is creating jobs in ranger deployment, surveillance, monitoring, fencing, roadworks, construction, and logistics.
"It is stimulating local supply chains, transport services, community enterprises, and small businesses linked to a growing wildlife economy. As the sanctuary attracts more visitors, tourism will expand, benefiting lodges, guides, cultural tourism, crafts, and service providers," said President Ruto.By 2030, the initiative is projected to create more than 18,000 jobs and generate over KSh 5.8 billion in conservancy and tourism-linked revenue.
