This file photo taken May 21, 2010, shows an endangered East African black rhinoceros and her calf walking in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. (Xinhua)
A 43-year-old black rhinoceros named Rajabu has died in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) said in a statement.
DAR ES SALAAM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- A 43-year-old black rhino named Rajabu died of age Sunday night in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) said in a statement Monday.
The statement signed by the TANAPA assistant commissioner for conservation in charge of corporate communications Pascal Shelutete said the average life span of a black rhino, one of the endangered species in the world, is between 35 and 40 years.
The rhino was born in the Ngorongoro conservation area in 1979 and it was transferred to the Serengeti National Park in 1993, said the statement.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Tanzania has about 190 rhinos.
Tanzania had 10,000 rhinos in the 1970s and the number declined to 65 in the 1990s and went up again to 161 in 2018 and 190 in 2020.
The sharp decline in the population of rhinos in the country is attributed to massive poaching. ■
