Solio, the oldest black rhino at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya has died at the age of 42.
The rhino which surpassed the average wild black rhino lifespan of 30-years, and thus nicknamed “Grand Old Lady”, died of old age on Monday. Solio gave birth to 10 calves in her lifetime and was part of Lewa’s pioneering population which also sums up as the biggest rhino sanctuary in Africa, with 84 black rhinos and 72 white rhinos.
Rhinos happen to be among the most endangered species targeted by poachers, for its horns, resulting to their dwindling population and thus creating a necessity for authorities to keep them in protected areas. In less than 20 years, their population has declined from 20,000 to 300.
“The survival of her species depended on healthy and robust rhinos such as Solio. Today, her family tree extends three generations, consisting of over 40 animals,” read a statement from the conservancy.
However, some of her offspring have also been trans-located to populate two new rhino sanctuaries, the Sera Community Conservancy and the Borana Conservancy. The two family-run conservancies merged two years ago to create one conservation landscape of 93,000 acres.
According to Edward Ndiritu, the head of anti-poaching operations at the conservancy, surveillance technology has been improved to monitor movements of the rhinos in the Lewa-Borana area. The area is said to be home to 14 percent of Kenya’s’ rhino population.
