Solio Ranch

Nyeri, KE

About

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 geared toward rhino conservation. The 17,500-acre reserve, 22 km north of Nyeri Town, plays a major part in the protection and breeding black rhinos in Kenya . The rhino is a member of the ‘Big-Five’, which are a key tourist attraction. Solio Ranch is recognised as one of the most successful private rhino breeding reserves in Kenya. The animals live in harmony with other wildlife, including 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 Game Reserve == == Name == Solio Ranch is named after Solio who was a great Maasai chief. == History == 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; since then, breeding has been so successful that rhino from Solio have stocked game reserves all over Africa.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. SOURCESWikipedia