International Rhino Foundation Information

More than 30 years ago, intense, organized poaching was decimating Zimbabwe’s black rhino population at an alarming rate. In response, a group of concerned individuals and institutions founded the International Black Rhino Foundation in 1989. In part because of the Foundation’s support, poaching was virtually eliminated and Zimbabwe’s black rhino population began to stabilize and eventually increase. In 1993, recognizing that all five rhino species were facing an escalating crisis, the International Black Rhino Foundation expanded its mission and became the International Rhino Foundation (IRF). All five living rhino species (Black, White, Greater One-Horned, Sumatran, and Javan) are in terrible peril – from poaching, forest loss, and habitat conversion, from human settlements encroaching on their habitats in Africa, Indonesia, and India, and from the effects of living in small, isolated populations that can’t get together to breed. IRF protects particularly threatened rhino populations and their habitats in the wild, while also supporting management and applied research that can help improve the chances for rhinos’ long-term survival. IRF’s current major programs include: 1) Indonesia: Rhino Protection Units, the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, and the Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area; 2) India: Indian Rhino Vision 2020; 3) Zimbabwe: Lowveld Rhino Conservation Program; and 4) Southern Africa: Operation Stop Poaching Now. IRF also supports scientific research, providing grants for work that is directly applicable to management, propagation, and conservation of rhino species in nature and in breeding centers. Around 900 individual “members”, along with zoos, private foundations, corporations and government agencies comprise IRF’s financial supporters. The International Rhino Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors who generously contribute time and financial resources to its efforts.