As poaching of rhino declines as a result of various interventions, the government is now grappling with another challenge of territorial fights.
In the wild, rhino especially black ones are extremely territorial.
Males in particular will fight other males found in their territory, often inflicting injuries to each other. Fierce fights in some cases lead to death.
The fights are the latest headache for wildlife managers.
The new recovery and action plan 2022-26 that was unveiled on Friday by Tourism CS Peninah Malonza has called for the need to expand rhino ranges to avert such fights.
The plan was launched at KWS headquarters in Lang'ata as Kenya joined the world to commemorate World Rhino Day.
The day was inaugurated in 2010 to help raise awareness on the need to protect the five existing species of rhinoceros-white rhino, black rhino, Indian rhino, Javan rhino and Sumatran rhino.
The 2022-26 action plan seeks to enhance rhino surveillance and monitoring, conduct population surveys and expand rhino ranges.
Malonza said there are 33 mammalian, 28 avian and 356 plant species in Kenya whose survival is threatened, with the black rhino being one of them.
The CS said the main threats are caused by human activities including climate change, habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, poaching, illegal wildlife trade and human-wildlife conflict associated with land use changes.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, approximately 500,000 rhinos roamed Africa and Asia.
By 1970, rhino numbers dropped to 70,000, currently around 27,000 remain in the wild.
The number of black rhino in Kenya doubled from less than 400 individuals in 1989 when KWS was established to the current population estimate of 990 individuals by August 2023.
Malonza said Kenya’s black rhino population ranks third after South Africa and Namibia and that approximately 80 per cent of the eastern subspecies of the black rhino.
The CS said collaboration with other actors will be critical to achieving a new goal of black rhino numbers increasing by at least five per cent, poaching kept below 0.5 per cent and mortality from other causes reduced to less than 0.5 per cent annually to reach a confirmed national total of 1,200 black rhino by the end of 2026.
The southern white rhino population has increased from approximately 50 individuals introduced from southern Africa in 1980s and 1990s to the current population estimate of 950 individuals.
Wildlife PS Silvia Museiya said the journey to safeguard the black rhino has been a long and arduous one, but it has been marked by remarkable progress.
“One pivotal moment in this journey is the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013, which introduced enhanced penalties for wildlife crimes especially the critically endangered species listed in the sixth schedule,"she said.
"This, combined with the unwavering efforts of the local and international community, has led to significant strides in our fight against the illegal wildlife trade and, importantly in reducing rhino poaching in Kenya.”
Kenya Wildlife Service Director General Dr Erustus Kanga said for the first time in the last 20 years, the country have had less than one per cent of rhino poaching in the entire period of the implementation of the sixth edition.
Kanga said KWS has partnered with a consortium of renowned local and international scientists and conservationists to save the Northern White rhino from extinction using cutting-edge bio-rescue technology.
He said 14 Ovum Pick Up missions have been undertaken since 2019, with 29 embryos developed.
Kanga said rhino populations in the six sanctuaries (Ngulia, Nairobi, Lake Nakuru, Solio, Ol Pejeta and Lewa) are being managed at Carrying Capacity.
