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Solio Ranch
Solio Ranch or Solio Game Reserve is a privately owned wildlife conservancy located in Kenya's Central Province.
The ranch is a fenced, privately owned, protected area for rhino conservation. The 7,100-hectare (17,500-acre) reserve, 22 km north of Nyeri, plays a major role in the protection and breeding of black rhinos in Kenya. The rhino is a member of the 'Big-Five', which are a key tourist attraction; other wildlife include the buffalo, zebra, giraffe and plains game such as eland, oryx, impala, waterbuck, Thompson's gazelle and warthog. By the end of 2009, Kenya had 635 black rhinos and 353 white rhinos in various conservation areas around the country.
Solio Ranch is named after Solio who was a great Maasai chief.
The world's first private rhino sanctuary, Solio Game Reserve was started in 1970 when Courtland Parfet, the owner of Solio cattle ranch, fenced off a large section of land and dedicated it to conservation; breeding has been so successful that rhino from Solio have stocked game reserves all over Africa.
Originally a cattle ranch, Solio Game Reserve was formed as part of a conservation effort initiated by the owners, The Parfet Family. They apportioned a huge part of their land for the conservation and breeding of rhinos, in particular the threatened black rhino. It was the first of its kind in Africa with an ambitious objective to protect and breed rhino, given rhino poaching was increasing at a rate that would surely wipe out the species in Kenya. Black rhino populations in Kenya dropped from around 18,000 in the late 1960’s to less than 1,500 by 1980 and about 400 in 1990. The Kenyan Government in the 1970s supported and helped with the protection of the sanctuary with the Kenyan Armed Forces as well as Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
From 1970 through to 2003, the world population of the African black rhinoceros declined from about 65,000 to an estimated 3,725. It was estimated that in Kenya, the population dropped from 18,000 to 1500 in 1980 and only 400 in 1990. In percentage terms the population dropped from 28% to a mere 12% of the world population. This sharp decline was caused by poaching during the 1970s and the early 1980s, both inside and outside the national parks and reserves, with few controls and little enforcement.
One outcome of the intensive killing was to leave small remnant populations, sometimes just a single individual, scattered across the country with no hope of long-term survival and often endangering nearby human settlements while still under threat from poaching.
Kenya's Wildlife and Conservation Management Department approached Mr Courtland Parfet, owner of the Solio cattle ranch located on the Laikipia plateau in central Kenya, for assistance. With a commitment to conservation, a 5,500-hectare (13,500-acre) area of the ranch had already been fenced off to protect indigenous wildlife and allow them to live their natural life without interference or threat from humans. The Solio Game Reserve was home to many buffalos, zebras, gazelles and leopards but there were no rhinos.
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Solio Ranch
Solio Ranch or Solio Game Reserve is a privately owned wildlife conservancy located in Kenya's Central Province.
The ranch is a fenced, privately owned, protected area for rhino conservation. The 7,100-hectare (17,500-acre) reserve, 22 km north of Nyeri, plays a major role in the protection and breeding of black rhinos in Kenya. The rhino is a member of the 'Big-Five', which are a key tourist attraction; other wildlife include the buffalo, zebra, giraffe and plains game such as eland, oryx, impala, waterbuck, Thompson's gazelle and warthog. By the end of 2009, Kenya had 635 black rhinos and 353 white rhinos in various conservation areas around the country.
Solio Ranch is named after Solio who was a great Maasai chief.
The world's first private rhino sanctuary, Solio Game Reserve was started in 1970 when Courtland Parfet, the owner of Solio cattle ranch, fenced off a large section of land and dedicated it to conservation; breeding has been so successful that rhino from Solio have stocked game reserves all over Africa.
Originally a cattle ranch, Solio Game Reserve was formed as part of a conservation effort initiated by the owners, The Parfet Family. They apportioned a huge part of their land for the conservation and breeding of rhinos, in particular the threatened black rhino. It was the first of its kind in Africa with an ambitious objective to protect and breed rhino, given rhino poaching was increasing at a rate that would surely wipe out the species in Kenya. Black rhino populations in Kenya dropped from around 18,000 in the late 1960’s to less than 1,500 by 1980 and about 400 in 1990. The Kenyan Government in the 1970s supported and helped with the protection of the sanctuary with the Kenyan Armed Forces as well as Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
From 1970 through to 2003, the world population of the African black rhinoceros declined from about 65,000 to an estimated 3,725. It was estimated that in Kenya, the population dropped from 18,000 to 1500 in 1980 and only 400 in 1990. In percentage terms the population dropped from 28% to a mere 12% of the world population. This sharp decline was caused by poaching during the 1970s and the early 1980s, both inside and outside the national parks and reserves, with few controls and little enforcement.
One outcome of the intensive killing was to leave small remnant populations, sometimes just a single individual, scattered across the country with no hope of long-term survival and often endangering nearby human settlements while still under threat from poaching.
Kenya's Wildlife and Conservation Management Department approached Mr Courtland Parfet, owner of the Solio cattle ranch located on the Laikipia plateau in central Kenya, for assistance. With a commitment to conservation, a 5,500-hectare (13,500-acre) area of the ranch had already been fenced off to protect indigenous wildlife and allow them to live their natural life without interference or threat from humans. The Solio Game Reserve was home to many buffalos, zebras, gazelles and leopards but there were no rhinos.