Kenya officially unveiled the expanded Tsavo West Rhino Sanctuary, a 3,200-square-kilometre wilderness—twice the size of the world-famous Maasai Mara wildlife sanctuary and now the largest rhino sanctuary on earth.

At the inaugural ceremony on December 9, President William Ruto said the initiative breathes new life into the critically endangered Eastern black rhino.

Across this sweeping landscape, 200 black rhinos—150 from the former Ngulia Sanctuary and 50 from Tsavo West’s Intensive Protection Zone—now roam through the restored wilderness.

Kenya is home to roughly 2,000 rhinos—including more than 1,000 Eastern black rhinos, representing nearly 78% of the global population.

Tsavo itself is a land with a long memory. Decades ago, more than 8,000 black rhinos once lived there but by 1989, relentless poaching had reduced their numbers to fewer than twenty.

Kenya says this sharp decline forged its modern conservation movement and the creation of the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Kenya Wildlife Service Director General Professor Erustus Kanga at the opening ceremony said extensive ecological planning, modern LoRaWAN and VHF tracking systems, artificial-intelligence-enhanced surveillance and improved ranger bases now reinforce the landscape. This helps rangers monitor rhino movements, restore ecological corridors and protect the animals with precision unimaginable only a decade ago.

This new sanctuary is also a catalyst for Kenya’s tourism. Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife Rebecca Miano said the expansion aligns with the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion initiative, the Black Rhino Recovery and Action Plan and the National Wildlife Strategy 2030.

She emphasised that a healthier population of rhinos will foster stronger livelihoods, new opportunities for youth employment and greater community benefit sharing throughout the Tsavo region. By 2030, the sanctuary is expected to "generate tens of thousands of jobs and over 45 million US dollars in tourism and conservancy revenue."

Jamie Gaymer, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion programme, highlighted conservation as an act of nation-building.

He noted that every rhino protected strengthens both the environment and the economy and that the sanctuary will work to maintain international standards while driving Kenya toward its population target of 1,450 rhinos by 2030 and 2,000 by 2037.