The first nature reserve in Africa, now known as Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park (HiP), was created to protect the last surviving southern white rhinos in 1895. Over half a century later, the success of HiP convinced conservationists that it was time to begin reintroducing the species across their former range. That historic effort became known as Operation Rhino.
In just five years between 1961 and 1966, HiP game warden Dr. Ian Player supervised the translocation of nearly 500 white rhinos across southern Africa. The operation pioneered methods of safely capturing and transferring southern white rhinos that laid the groundwork for rhino conservation techniques today. Following Operation Rhino, the southern white rhino population grew from fewer than 100 individuals at the end of the 20th century to more than 15,000 today, making the effort an iconic conservation success story.