Savanna fires, a boon to grazers, cast rhinos into a ‘food desert’

by Shreya Dasgupta on 6 November 2018

Fire is a common tool used in conservation areas across Africa to help regenerate grass for grazers, reduce encroachment of bushes, and control ticks and diseases. But how fire affects rhinos and their food has remained unclear.

Researchers have found that black rhinos in Serengeti National Park prefer to graze in spots that burn just once in 10 years, and actively avoid areas that are burned frequently. The park’s managers carry out controlled burns at least once a year.

The study found that fires reduce the availability of the plants that the black rhinos prefer to eat.

The researchers have called for an adaptable fire strategy that allows burning in some areas to benefit grazers such as wildebeest and zebra, and avoids fires in rhinos’ preferred habitats.

When it comes to protecting the critically endangered black rhinoceros, the focus tends to be on preventing the animals from being poached. But insidious threats like fire could be affecting their long-term survival too, a new study warns.

In African savannas, natural resource managers frequently use fire as a tool to manage wildlife habitats; fire can help regenerate grass for grazers, reduce encroachment of bushes, and control ticks and diseases. But how fire affects rhinos and their food has remained unclear until recently.

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