By Ken Muthomi - Reporter
Kenya, 6 May 2026 - The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has urged landowners across the country to support rhino conservation by providing space for new habitats, as part of efforts to safely preserve the country's growing rhino population.
In a statement, the agency said that it is high time for private landowners, conservancies, and partners across Laikipia and beyond to collaborate with the government to ramp up conservation efforts aimed at creating a safe haven for Rhinos in the country.
The appeal is part of a broader effort to reintroduce the rhinos into the Laikipia landscape under the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion (KRRE) programme, an initiative spearheaded by the service to establish new habitats for Rhinos to address overpopulation in existing sanctuaries.
KWS Director General Erustus Kanga appealed this during a consultative meeting with landowners, research scientists, and key stakeholders from Laikipia County at Mpala Research Centre.
Kanga has assured that the national government will pump in the necessary resources and safeguards to ensure that the reintroduction of KRRE is seamless.
“I express my appreciation to landowners already hosting these iconic species on their land and call on others, particularly community conservancies across the landscape, to join the growing network of rhino sanctuaries,” Prof Kanga said.
More from Kenya
He emphasised that this is a shared national responsibility, and no stakeholder should be left behind.
In recent years, Kenya has emerged as one of the continent's key strongholds for rhino conservation, with populations steadily recovering due to sustained protection efforts.
Kenya is home to approximately 2,000 rhinos, including more than 1,000 black rhinos and 1,000 southern white rhinos. This represents almost 78% of the global Eastern black rhino population. The country also hosts the two remaining Northern White Rhinos.
These milestones have been achieved through anti-poaching measures, habitat protection, as well as coordinated breeding programmes, thus managing to reverse decades of decline.