AJAI GAME RESERVE TO RECEIVE 22 WHITE RHINOS BEFORE END OF 2025

By Morish Dramadri

Arua city

Ajai game reserve in Madi Okollo district is gearing up to receive about 22 southern white rhinos in the first phase of the reintroduction of the white rhinos to the reserve by Uganda Wildlife Authority by August this years.

Since 2006, the re-introduction of the white Rhinos and other wildlife species back to Ajai Wildlife Reserve has been a long standing demand for the people of West Nile due to its high potential to spur the development of Tourism sector in the sub region.

Early last year, Uganda Wild life Authority commenced the preparation to reintroduce the white rhinos into the reserve where they Trans located 226 Uganda kops and 20 buffaloes to the reserve to manipulate habitat and reduce the busy conditions that are unsuitable for the white rhinos.

Knight Zahara the Madi Okollo tourism officer confirmed that the white rhinos will officially arrive at Ajai game reserve by the end of this year.  

“As part of the preparation, they started with manipulation, getting rid of the congested trees and of course reducing the busy grass even put to now, for the Rhinos, they will have to dig a ditch but the digging of the ditch has not yet started, according to the information from the reliable sources by the end of his year, we shall receive them,” Zahara confirmed. 

According to a road map issued by UWA In November 2023, the long awaited reintroduction of the White Rhino back to Ajai Wildlife Reserve will be in 2025.

Madi Okollo district chairman Ismael Drabe noted that all is set to receive the white rhinos at Ajai Game reserve.

“The white Rhinos shall be brought to Ajai Game Reserve; we have been delayed a bit where we were still engaging the community to understand the process and the needs but right now all is set, there were some people who were curved inside at the time when the pillars were been planted and they are due to be compensated and the compensation process has also gone very far with them already submitting account numbers to Uganda Wildlife Authority,” Drabe disclosed.
 
The 166sq.km Ajai Wildlife Reserve is an area with unique flora and fauna known for the earlier existence of the Southern White Rhinos in Uganda and was gazetted as a Game reserve in 1965 by Statutory Instrument No. 147 of 1965.

Written by admin