White Rhinos in Uganda 2025: Population, Protected Areas, and the Road Back from Extinction

Uganda currently has 61 southern white rhinos distributed across multiple protected areas. That number rose in a single day on 9th December 2025, when South Africa donated eight additional animals to the country — the most significant single addition to the Ugandan rhino population in years, according to the State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026 report. For a species that was entirely wiped out from Uganda's wild during the political crises of the 1970s and 1980s, reaching 61 individuals is a milestone worth understanding in full.

The story of how Uganda rebuilt its rhino population from zero is one of the more determined conservation efforts in East Africa. It involved international partnerships, purpose-built sanctuaries, careful genetic management, and years of patient breeding. Understanding where those 61 animals live, who protects them, and what happens next tells you a great deal about how Uganda approaches wildlife management more broadly.

How the rhinos disappeared

The southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) once ranged across parts of East Africa, but Uganda's population was already reduced to a small remnant by the mid-twentieth century. The combination of Idi Amin's regime in the 1970s, the subsequent Bush War, and the collapse of institutional wildlife protection created the conditions for a catastrophic poaching surge. By the late 1980s, no wild rhinos remained in Uganda. The species had been eliminated from the country entirely.

This was not unique to Uganda. Across the continent, rhino numbers collapsed dramatically in the same decades. But Uganda's trajectory was particularly severe because the breakdown of government authority left protected areas effectively unguarded for extended periods. Rangers fled, equipment was looted, and the animals that remained were killed for their horn. The State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026 documents wildlife recoveries across many species over recent decades — the rhino programme is among the most deliberate and carefully managed of those recoveries.

The reintroduction begins

The formal reintroduction of white rhinos to Uganda began in 2005, when the first animals arrived at the newly established Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola District, roughly midway between Kampala and Murchison Falls. The sanctuary was created through a partnership between the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Rhino Fund Uganda, a non-governmental organisation dedicated specifically to rhino conservation in the country.

The initial animals came from Kenya and other African countries with established white rhino populations. They were placed in a large fenced area where they could breed under continuous protection, with armed rangers on patrol around the clock. The model was deliberately modelled on successful programmes in South Africa and Kenya — fenced sanctuaries that remove the animals from the threat of poaching while population numbers remain too low for open-range management.

Over the following years, calves were born, the herd grew, and Ziwa became the only place in Uganda — and one of very few in East Africa — where visitors could walk alongside white rhinos on a guided foot safari. That experience remains one of the most distinctive wildlife encounters available anywhere in the country.

The arrival of eight animals from South Africa on 9th December 2025 brought the national total to 61. South Africa holds by far the largest white rhino population in the world — roughly 80 percent of the global total — and has an established programme of donating surplus animals to range states where rhinos were historically present. Uganda's track record of successful breeding and effective sanctuary management made it a credible recipient.

Translocating rhinos across international borders is a logistically demanding exercise. The animals must be darted and sedated, transported in specially reinforced crates under veterinary supervision, flown to the destination country, and then carefully introduced to their new environment. Stress during translocation can be fatal if not managed correctly, which makes the success of each transfer a genuine achievement.

The addition of eight animals at once is also significant from a genetic management perspective. Maintaining genetic diversity in a small, isolated population requires periodic introduction of unrelated individuals. A population that breeds only from its founding stock will gradually accumulate inbreeding depression — reduced fertility, weaker immune responses, developmental abnormalities. Each new arrival from a genetically distinct South African lineage strengthens the long-term health of the Ugandan herd.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary as the core

The Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary remains the principal home of Uganda's white rhinos. The sanctuary covers roughly 70 square kilometres of mixed woodland and grassland — sufficient for a herd of this size, but not large enough to serve as permanent habitat for a much larger population. The land is fully fenced and patrolled, eliminating the poaching risk that would accompany any open-range management at this stage.

Visitors to Ziwa join guided walking safaris with armed ranger escorts. The experience is fundamentally different from vehicle-based wildlife viewing: you are on foot, at the same level as animals that can weigh over 2,000 kilograms, with no metal frame between you and them. Rangers read the behaviour of each individual rhino and adjust the approach accordingly. It is an encounter that demands attention and tends to leave a lasting impression.

Distribution across protected areas

The State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026 notes that Uganda's 61 rhinos are distributed across multiple protected areas, not concentrated at a single site. This distribution is a deliberate risk management strategy: a disease outbreak, a localised security incident, or a natural catastrophe that struck a single site would not eliminate the entire national population if animals are spread across several locations.

Uganda administers its wildlife estate through six designated wildlife zones: Sango Bay, Kafu, Muzizi, Aswa, Central, and Kyoga. These zones cover the country's national parks, wildlife reserves, and the buffer areas between them. The rhino programme operates within this framework, with UWA maintaining oversight of all protected area management.

The Murchison Falls connection

The long-term vision for Uganda's rhino programme extends beyond permanent sanctuary life. Murchison Falls National Park has been discussed as a potential future range — a large, established park with existing rhino habitat and a functioning tourism infrastructure that could support the additional visitor interest a free-ranging rhino population would generate. The park already hosts significant populations of elephants, lions, buffalo, and Rothschild's giraffes, making it one of Uganda's most wildlife-rich ecosystems. Adding rhinos would complete a big-five experience that currently eludes Uganda's safari offering. That step requires the national population to reach a much larger threshold first, but 61 animals represents meaningful progress toward that goal.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority operates the most extensive wildlife law enforcement network in the country. According to the State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026, the vast majority of seizures involving illegally traded wildlife are led by UWA in coordination with the Uganda Police Force, the Uganda Revenue Authority, and specialist dog units. That multi-agency model reflects a recognition that wildlife crime does not operate in isolation from other forms of organised crime — the same networks that move rhino horn move ivory, timber, and narcotics.

Rhino protection at Ziwa specifically involves armed rangers on rotation, a perimeter fence with regular integrity checks, and a system of radio tracking that allows staff to locate every animal at short notice. Poaching of rhinos is qualitatively different from snare-based bushmeat poaching: it requires planning, firepower, and a pre-existing commercial network to sell the horn. The counter-strategy must match that level of organisation.

Community compensation and coexistence

One of the structural challenges in wildlife conservation across Uganda is the cost borne by communities living alongside protected areas. Animals that leave park boundaries can destroy crops, injure livestock, and occasionally threaten human lives. The human-wildlife conflict compensation scheme, introduced in 2022, addresses this directly. According to the State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026, a total of 1,014 households had been compensated between the scheme's introduction and 31st December 2025, with total payments reaching 2,900,309,254 Ugandan shillings.

This matters for rhino conservation because community hostility toward wildlife is among the most effective forces working against long-term protection. If a community near a sanctuary gains nothing from the presence of rhinos and loses crops and livestock to animals that escape the fence, the incentive to tolerate — let alone protect — those animals is close to zero. Compensation schemes, combined with tourism revenue sharing and employment of local rangers, shift that calculus. You can read more about how Uganda structures its human-wildlife conflict management in a dedicated analysis on this site.

A country straddling seven biogeographic regions

Uganda straddles seven of Africa's unique biogeographic regions, according to the State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026. That extraordinary ecological diversity — from the high-altitude montane forests of the Rwenzori and Bwindi to the semi-arid savannah of Kidepo, from Lake Victoria's shoreline wetlands to the papyrus swamps of the Nile — means that wildlife recovery in Uganda is not a single story. It is dozens of stories playing out across very different ecosystems simultaneously.

The rhino programme is one of the most visible of those stories, partly because rhinos are charismatic and partly because their complete local extinction and subsequent reintroduction makes the narrative arc unusually clear. But the same State of Wildlife Resources Report 2026 documents recovery trajectories for many other species across Uganda's wildlife estate — from elephant populations stabilising after decades of poaching pressure to the gradual return of predators to areas from which they had been displaced.

Tourism levies and conservation funding

One of the structural questions facing any wildlife authority is how to fund the ongoing cost of protection. UWA currently plans to implement tourism levies specifically to generate conservation funding, according to the State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026. The logic is straightforward: the visitors who pay to see Uganda's wildlife should contribute directly to the cost of protecting it. Uganda's national park visitor numbers and the broader role of tourism in Uganda's economy give that levy a meaningful revenue base to work from.

For rhino conservation specifically, a reliable funding stream matters enormously. Armed ranger patrols, veterinary services, fence maintenance, and the cost of international translocations all require sustained financial commitment. A programme that depends entirely on donor funding is structurally vulnerable; one that draws on a domestic revenue stream tied to visitor numbers has a more stable long-term foundation.

The UWEC and public conservation education

The Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) in Entebbe plays a complementary role to the field conservation programmes managed by UWA. The centre was deliberately expanded into a large wildlife facility intended to give Ugandans direct experience of their country's wildlife without requiring the cost of a national park visit. It conducts conservation education programmes across the country and handles the rehabilitation of injured or confiscated wildlife. For a child in Kampala who will never visit Ziwa, the UWEC may be the only place where a rhino becomes a real animal rather than an abstract concept in a textbook.

Ziwa on the way to Murchison

Most visitors to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary make it a stop on the journey between Kampala and Murchison Falls National Park. The sanctuary lies roughly halfway along that route, making it a natural break in what is otherwise a four-to-five-hour drive. Booking a rhino tracking session in advance is strongly recommended — morning slots tend to fill first, and the experience takes between one and two hours depending on how quickly the rangers locate the herd.

The combination of Ziwa and Murchison in a single itinerary gives visitors an unusually full picture of Uganda's large mammal diversity. Murchison holds elephants, hippos, Nile crocodiles, lions, leopards, and the Rothschild's giraffe — a species more threatened globally than the southern white rhino — while Ziwa adds the only rhinos accessible anywhere in Uganda or the neighbouring countries of Kenya, Tanzania, or Rwanda without a dedicated rhino-focused trip.

What the experience is actually like

During multiple visits to Uganda — including extended stays in January 2026 and May 2026 — I have observed how wildlife encounters shape the way travellers understand conservation. A rhinoceros seen from the door of a Land Cruiser registers as impressive. The same animal encountered on foot, its bulk apparent at thirty metres and its behaviour watched carefully by a ranger who knows it by name, registers as something closer to an encounter with another order of being. That shift in register — from spectacle to presence — is the core argument for why the walking safari format at Ziwa matters.

Rangers at the sanctuary can identify each individual animal by the shape of its horn, the pattern of its ear notches, and its behavioural habits. They track births, monitor health, and keep records that feed into the national database. Their detailed knowledge of the herd is also a practical security asset: a ranger who can tell immediately that an animal is behaving unusually is better positioned to detect a problem — illness, injury, or disturbance — before it becomes a crisis.

The State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026 frames the country's wildlife story as one of ongoing recovery, with the rhino programme as one of its clearest success cases. Sixty-one animals does not yet constitute a self-sustaining wild population — the threshold for that, under standard conservation criteria, is typically 100 or more individuals with adequate genetic diversity. But the trajectory is positive, and the December 2025 donation from South Africa suggests that the international conservation community views Uganda's management as credible enough to invest in with further animals.

The question of eventual release into national parks remains open. Murchison Falls is the most frequently cited candidate site, but the decision involves much more than simply opening a gate. Establishing a monitoring programme, training rangers for open-range rhino management, managing the expectations of communities near the park boundary, and assessing the park's carrying capacity for large grazers all require significant preparation. The Uganda Wildlife Authority's plan to introduce tourism levies as a conservation funding mechanism is partly directed at building that capacity over time.

Uganda's western national parks — including Queen Elizabeth and Kibale — represent a different set of habitat conditions, and the suitability of those landscapes for rhino reintroduction would require separate assessment. The savannah habitats of Murchison and the adjacent Bugungu Wildlife Reserve more closely resemble the open grassland that white rhinos prefer.

For travellers who care about what they are contributing to when they visit Uganda's wildlife areas, the rhino story offers a clear and honest answer. The park fees, the sanctuary entrance charges, and the ranger salaries they help fund are sustaining a population that did not exist in Uganda forty years ago. That is a concrete result, and the State of Wildlife Resources in Uganda 2026 provides the documented evidence that supports it. You can explore how Uganda's national parks translate visitor numbers into conservation outcomes in the Uganda tourism revenue sharing analysis on this site.

The wire snare problem that continues to affect bushmeat poaching across Uganda's parks — detailed separately in our analysis of wire snare poaching in Uganda — is less directly relevant to rhinos in fenced sanctuaries, but it is worth noting that the same law enforcement networks that protect rhinos also address the broader poaching crisis across the country's wildlife estate.

Uganda's white rhino population reached 61 animals in 2025, following the reintroduction of four rhinos to Kidepo Valley National Park.

Uganda's white rhino population is the southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum). By 2025, the country's total population had grown to 61 animals. This increase was driven in part by the reintroduction of four white rhinos to Kidepo Valley National Park, the first time rhinos have lived in that park in decades.

The species is currently classified by the IUCN as Near Threatened. This status reflects ongoing conservation concern, though it is a less severe category than the "Critically Endangered" status that applies to some other rhino populations across Africa.

Most of Uganda's white rhinos are still concentrated at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where breeding has continued steadily over the years, supplemented now by the newly established group in Kidepo.

Both the black rhino and the northern subspecies of white rhino were wiped out in Uganda by the mid-1980s, largely due to poaching; the southern white rhino population seen in Uganda today was reintroduced from other countries.

Uganda once had populations of both black rhinos and the northern subspecies of white rhino. Heavy poaching drove both to extinction within the country. The northern white rhino and the black rhino disappeared from Murchison Falls National Park by 1983, and by the mid-1980s neither species remained anywhere in Uganda.

In 2000, Rhino Fund Uganda and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) launched a project to reintroduce rhinos to the country. Breeding pairs of the southern white rhino — a different subspecies from the one that had gone extinct in Uganda — were brought in from Kenya, South Africa, and American zoo populations. These animals were settled on a fenced 7,000-hectare sanctuary at Ziwa, which opened in 2005.

The long-term goal of the project was always to breed enough rhinos at Ziwa to eventually release some into national parks, including Kidepo Valley National Park and Murchison Falls National Park. The 2025 reintroduction to Kidepo is the first time this goal has been realized for that park.

In 2025, four white rhinos were reintroduced to Kidepo Valley National Park, the first time the species has lived there in decades.

In 2025, four southern white rhinos were moved to Kidepo Valley National Park and successfully reintroduced there. This marked the first time rhinos have lived in the park since the northern white rhino and black rhino were wiped out decades earlier.

The reintroduction pushed Uganda's total white rhino population to 61 animals. It represents a milestone for a conservation effort that began at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in 2000, when breeding pairs were first brought into the country to rebuild a population from scratch.

For visitors, this means Kidepo Valley National Park has, for the first time, become a location where white rhinos can potentially be encountered in the wild, alongside its established reputation for other wildlife.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary remains the main place to see white rhinos in Uganda, and since 2025 a small population is also present in Kidepo Valley National Park.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, located near Masindi on the way to Murchison Falls National Park, has long been the primary site for viewing white rhinos in Uganda. It offers rhino tracking on foot with an armed, trained ranger, allowing visitors to approach the animals at a safe distance.

Since the 2025 reintroduction, a small population of white rhinos is also present in Kidepo Valley National Park in the country's far northeast. This park is less visited than Ziwa or Murchison Falls due to its remote location, but it offers a different setting for encountering the species.

Southern white rhinos are large grazing animals that live in small groups, typically a bull with several cows, and are found mainly in open grassland — habitat that makes them relatively easier to observe than many other large mammals.

The only rhino species living in Uganda today is the Southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum), found at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and, since 2025, in Kidepo Valley National Park.

Uganda's rhino population today consists entirely of the Southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum). This is an important distinction: the black rhino (Spitzmaulnashorn, a separate species, Diceros bicornis) and the northern subspecies of white rhino, which once also occurred in Uganda, no longer exist in the country. Every rhino a visitor encounters in Uganda today belongs to the Southern white rhino subspecies.

The Southern white rhino is a large, grazing species that can weigh up to 2,300 kg, making it one of the heaviest land mammals in Uganda. Its conservation status, according to the IUCN, is Near Threatened — a category that reflects ongoing conservation pressure but is less severe than "Critically Endangered" or "Endangered". Rhinos are just one part of Uganda's wider wildlife picture; for an overview of where to find other species, see the National Parks of Uganda and the Western Uganda National Parks guide.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary holds Uganda's Southern white rhinos, and the population there is growing steadily.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, located in central Uganda, holds exclusively Southern white rhinos. It remains the country's best-established site for rhino conservation and the most reliable place for visitors to see rhinos in a semi-wild setting, typically on guided tracking walks.

The rhino population at Ziwa is growing steadily. Ziwa's presence has made Uganda's later expansion of rhino conservation to other parts of the country, including Kidepo Valley National Park, possible.

In 2025, four Southern white rhinos were reintroduced to Kidepo Valley National Park, bringing Uganda's total white rhino population to 61.

In 2025, conservationists achieved a significant milestone: four Southern white rhinos were successfully reintroduced to Kidepo Valley National Park in northeastern Uganda. This raised the country's total white rhino population to 61 animals.

The Kidepo reintroduction expands the range of white rhinos in Uganda beyond Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for the first time in decades. Alongside Ziwa's long-running presence, it represents one of the country's clearest recent conservation achievements. Travelers planning a visit can find route and transport details in the guide to getting to Kidepo Valley National Park from Kampala.

The black rhino (Spitzmaulnashorn), a separate species, and the northern subspecies of the white rhino were both completely wiped out in Uganda, including in Murchison Falls National Park, by 1983.

Uganda once had two other rhino populations besides the Southern white rhino: the black rhino (Spitzmaulnashorn, Diceros bicornis) — a distinct species in its own right, not a subspecies of the white rhino — and the northern subspecies of the white rhino. Both were eliminated from Murchison Falls National Park and the rest of the country by 1983, primarily due to poaching that intensified during periods of civil conflict.

This history explains why only the Southern white rhino remains in Uganda today. It also underscores why current conservation efforts — at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and now in Kidepo Valley National Park — are approached with heightened protection measures to prevent a repeat of past losses. The pressures that drove rhinos to extinction in Uganda are part of a broader pattern of wildlife exploitation covered in Uganda Wildlife Trade: Trophies, Birds and Live Exports.

Uganda's white rhino population stands at 61 animals in 2025, and the Southern White Rhino is classified by the IUCN as Near Threatened.

The Southern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) carries an IUCN status of Near Threatened as of 2025. This is the subspecies found in Uganda today, primarily at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where the population has grown steadily since the sanctuary's founding.

This current success stands in contrast to Uganda's rhino history. The Black Rhino and the Northern White Rhino subspecies were driven to complete extinction in Uganda during the mid-1980s, with Murchison Falls National Park losing its last animals of these types by 1983. It is important to distinguish these extinct populations from the Southern White Rhino now being bred and reintroduced across the country.

In 2025, four white rhinos were reintroduced to Kidepo Valley National Park, pushing Uganda's total white rhino population to 61 animals.

In 2025, four Southern White Rhinos were successfully reintroduced to Kidepo Valley National Park. This reintroduction raised the total white rhino population in Uganda to 61 animals and marked an important step in expanding the species' range beyond Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where breeding groups originally from Kenya, South Africa, and American zoo stocks have been managed since the sanctuary opened in 2005.

The long-term breeding and reintroduction programme, run by Rhino Fund Uganda in partnership with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), was designed from the outset to eventually resettle rhinos in parks such as Kidepo Valley and Murchison Falls.

The Southern White Rhino weighs up to 2,300 kg and is the subspecies found at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and Kidepo Valley National Park.

The rhino species kept at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the Southern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum), which can weigh up to 2,300 kg. White rhinos are grazers, living predominantly in open grassland, which makes them easier to observe than browsing species.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, a fenced 7,000-hectare area east of Masindi, was established in 2000 as a joint project between Rhino Fund Uganda and the Uganda Wildlife Authority. It opened to visitors in 2005. Rhinos bred at Ziwa are intended for eventual release into Kidepo Valley and Murchison Falls National Parks, a process now underway with the 2025 Kidepo reintroduction.

Visitors can currently see white rhinos at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary near Masindi, with Kidepo Valley National Park now also home to a small reintroduced group.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary remains the most accessible place to see white rhinos in Uganda and is a popular stop on the way to Murchison Falls National Park. Visitors can join ranger-led rhino tracking walks on foot, approaching the animals at a safe distance under guidance from trained, armed rangers.

With the 2025 reintroduction, Kidepo Valley National Park has also become home to a small population of white rhinos, extending the species' presence beyond Ziwa for the first time in decades.

The Southern White Rhino, the subspecies found in Uganda, is currently classified by the IUCN as Near Threatened, a status confirmed as of 2025.

The Southern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) is the rhino subspecies present in Uganda today. As of 2025, it is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Near Threatened. This status reflects decades of conservation work following the near-total loss of rhinos in the country during the twentieth century.

Uganda's black rhinos and northern white rhinos were completely wiped out by the mid-1980s, with the last populations in Murchison Falls National Park lost by 1983.

Uganda once had populations of both black rhinos and the northern white rhino subspecies. Decades of poaching and civil conflict drove both to local extinction. By 1983, the black rhino and the northern white rhino subspecies had been completely wiped out in Murchison Falls National Park, effectively ending the presence of these two rhino types in Uganda by the mid-1980s.

This history is central to why today's rhinos in Uganda belong exclusively to the Southern White Rhino subspecies, reintroduced from populations outside the country as part of long-term recovery efforts.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is home to Southern White Rhinos, animals that can weigh up to 2,300 kg, and its population has grown steadily over time.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the primary home of the Southern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) in Uganda. These are large animals, with adults capable of weighing up to 2,300 kg. Since its founding, the sanctuary's rhino population has grown steadily, making it the country's main site for rhino breeding and reintroduction efforts.

For visitors planning a safari, Ziwa remains the most accessible place in Uganda to see white rhinos in a protected, monitored setting.

In 2025, four white rhinos were reintroduced to Kidepo Valley National Park, raising Uganda's total white rhino population to 61 animals.

In 2025, four white rhinos were reintroduced to Kidepo Valley National Park, a milestone that expanded the species' range beyond Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for the first time in decades. This reintroduction brought Uganda's total white rhino population to 61 animals.

The move represents a significant step in Uganda's wildlife conservation strategy, distributing the rhino population across more than one protected area rather than concentrating it entirely in a single sanctuary. It builds on the steady population growth already achieved at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and signals continued national commitment to rhino recovery.

Travelers interested in wildlife conservation can combine a visit to Kidepo Valley with broader exploration of Uganda's national parks.

Uganda's white rhino population stood at 61 animals in 2025, up from earlier lower counts, following the reintroduction of four rhinos to Kidepo Valley National Park.

Uganda's white rhino population reached 61 animals in 2025. The increase followed the reintroduction of four rhinos to Kidepo Valley National Park, part of the long-term plan to re-establish rhinos beyond the breeding sanctuary at Ziwa.

The population at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where breeding pairs are held and bred, has grown steadily over the years since the project began. The Southern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) is the subspecies kept and bred at Ziwa.

The species carries an IUCN status of Near Threatened, reflecting a population that has recovered from severe historical losses but remains dependent on active protection and management.

In 2025, four white rhinos bred at Ziwa were released into Kidepo Valley National Park, marking a step toward restoring wild rhino populations outside the sanctuary.

In 2025, four white rhinos were reintroduced to Kidepo Valley National Park. This step is part of a plan that has existed since the founding of Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary: rhinos bred in the fenced, protected environment at Ziwa are intended to eventually be released into national parks, including Kidepo Valley and Murchison Falls.

The Kidepo release raised Uganda's total white rhino count to 61 animals and represents a distinct effort from the historical population that once existed in Murchison Falls National Park before it was wiped out.

Black rhinos and the northern white rhino subspecies were completely wiped out in Uganda by the mid-1980s, including in Murchison Falls National Park by 1983.

Black rhinos and the northern subspecies of the white rhino were once widespread in Uganda, including in Murchison Falls National Park. By 1983, both had been completely eliminated from the park. Across Uganda as a whole, both were wiped out by the mid-1980s, largely due to poaching and civil conflict.

This historical loss is distinct from the rhinos now living at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and in Kidepo Valley National Park, which belong to the Southern White Rhino subspecies and stem from a reintroduction project rather than a surviving native population. Read more in our overview of Western Uganda National Parks.

In 2000, Rhino Fund Uganda and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) began a project to reintroduce both black rhinos and white rhinos to Uganda. Breeding pairs of Southern White Rhino, brought in from Kenya, South Africa and American zoos, were established on a fenced, 7,000-hectare sanctuary at Ziwa, opened in 2005. The long-term goal was always to eventually release rhinos bred there into Kidepo Valley National Park and Murchison Falls National Park.

The Southern White Rhino, the subspecies kept at Ziwa, weighs up to 2,300 kg and lives in small herds grazing on open grassland.

The white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) is notably larger and heavier than the black rhino, weighing up to 2,300 kg. Unlike the solitary black rhino, white rhinos are often found in small herds — typically one bull with several cows.

White rhinos live predominantly in open grassland, feeding by grazing grass, which also makes them comparatively easier to observe than browsing species. The subspecies held and bred at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the Southern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum).

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, a popular stop en route to Murchison Falls National Park, offers guided rhino tracking on foot with rangers.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, east of Masindi, is a common stop for travelers heading to Murchison Falls National Park. Visitors can join a ranger-guided rhino tracking walk, approaching the animals on foot to within roughly 30 meters. For general wildlife trip planning, see our Western Uganda wildlife travel guide.

With the 2025 reintroduction to Kidepo Valley National Park, sightings outside the sanctuary may also become possible over time, though Ziwa remains the most established and reliable location for rhino encounters in Uganda. Travelers planning a Kidepo trip can consult our guide on getting to Kidepo Valley National Park from Kampala.

For context on wider conservation and trade issues affecting Uganda's wildlife, see our overview of Uganda wildlife trade, trophies, birds and live exports.

Uganda's white rhino population reached 61 animals in 2025, following the reintroduction of four rhinos to Kidepo Valley National Park.

The Southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) is the only rhino subspecies currently found in Uganda. Following the 2025 reintroduction of four animals to Kidepo Valley National Park, the country's total white rhino population rose to 61 individuals.

Most of Uganda's white rhinos live at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary near Masindi, where the population has grown steadily since breeding pairs were first brought in from Kenya, South Africa and American zoos. Ziwa remains the country's core breeding site and the main location where visitors can reliably see white rhinos on foot.

In 2025, four Southern white rhinos were reintroduced to Kidepo Valley National Park, extending the species' range beyond Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for the first time in decades.

Kidepo Valley National Park, in Uganda's remote northeast, received four white rhinos in 2025 as part of the long-term plan to restore the species to protected areas beyond Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. This reintroduction pushed Uganda's total white rhino count to 61 animals.

The move follows years of breeding at Ziwa, where animals originally sourced from Kenya, South Africa and American zoos have produced offspring that can now be relocated. Kidepo Valley and Murchison Falls National Park were identified early on as target sites for eventual rewilding once the Ziwa population was large and stable enough.

The Southern white rhino is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, a less severe status than the black rhino, which is Critically Endangered.

The Southern white rhino carries an IUCN status of Near Threatened. This is a notable distinction from the black rhino, which faces a far more critical conservation outlook and remains completely absent from Uganda today.

Both the black rhino and the northern white rhino subspecies were wiped out in Uganda through poaching, with local extinction in Murchison Falls National Park by 1983 and complete disappearance from the country by the mid-1980s. The white rhinos found in Uganda today are exclusively the Southern subspecies, reintroduced through dedicated conservation programs rather than surviving native populations.

Black rhinos and the northern white rhino subspecies were hunted to extinction in Uganda by the mid-1980s; today's population consists entirely of reintroduced Southern white rhinos.

Uganda once had both black rhinos and the northern subspecies of white rhino, but heavy poaching eliminated them. Both were gone from Murchison Falls National Park by 1983, and by the mid-1980s neither subspecies remained anywhere in the country.

In 2000, the Rhino Fund Uganda, working with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), launched a reintroduction project using the Southern white rhino subspecies. Breeding pairs were brought to a fenced 7,000-hectare sanctuary at Ziwa, officially opened in 2005. The long-term goal has always been to build up numbers at Ziwa and then release animals into other protected areas — a plan now realized with the 2025 reintroduction to Kidepo Valley National Park.

The southern white rhino is classified by the IUCN as Near Threatened and can weigh up to 2,300 kg.

The only rhino subspecies living in Uganda today is the southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum). The IUCN lists it as Near Threatened as of 2025. Adult animals can reach a body weight of up to 2,300 kg, making them one of the largest land mammals found in Uganda.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is home exclusively to southern white rhinos, and the resident population has been growing steadily.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary holds only the southern white rhino. The sanctuary was established to breed and protect this subspecies after rhinos had disappeared from Uganda's national parks, and its population has grown steadily over time. Together with other wildlife areas covered in the Uganda Wildlife overview, Ziwa remains the longest-established place to see rhinos in the country.

In 2025, four southern white rhinos were reintroduced to Kidepo Valley National Park, raising Uganda's total rhino population to 61.

In 2025, four southern white rhinos were moved to Kidepo Valley National Park, establishing a second site for the species in Uganda alongside Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. With this reintroduction, the total number of white rhinos in Uganda rose to 61.

The move marks a shift away from relying on a single sanctuary and spreads the species across two protected areas in different parts of the country. Monitoring of population numbers and reintroduction outcomes like this one is part of the broader wildlife research work described by NatureUganda's research and monitoring programme. Travellers planning a visit can find route details in the Kidepo Valley transport guide.

Black rhinos and the northern white rhino subspecies were completely wiped out in Uganda by the 1980s, including in Murchison Falls National Park.

Rhinos were not always limited to Ziwa and Kidepo. Uganda once had both black rhinos and the northern white rhino subspecies, including populations in Murchison Falls National Park. By 1983, and more broadly by the mid-1980s, both the black rhino and the northern white rhino subspecies had been completely eradicated from Uganda, largely due to poaching and civil unrest.

It is important not to confuse these extinct subspecies with the southern white rhino, which is the only rhino subspecies present in Uganda today, at Ziwa and Kidepo.