Consequences of white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) poaching on grassland structure in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in South Africa

Abstract: The megaherbivore white rhinoceros plays a vital role in African savannah ecosystem, where it affects the grassland through heavy grazing and creates a mosaic grassland varying in structure. Illegal removal of the white rhinoceros has dramatically increased, and led to a decrease of white rhinoceros’ population density. My aim is to examine whether their illegal removal influences grassland structure, and whether this may affect habitat use of other species. The research was conducted in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in South Africa, where I performed a correlative study on two scales, landscape and local. I quantified grassland structure, and the result showed that the white rhinoceros shaped grassland structure. The density of herbivores tended to decrease with higher altitude. No significance difference in grassland structure was found on a local scale, due to the lack of hotspots, i.e. middens and termite mounds, found along the transects. I conclude that there is variation in grassland biomass and distribution of dung of different herb’s, and I also observed fewer hotspots in high poaching areas. In the future, it is crucial to get to the root of the illegal removal and to act towards a non-poaching environment, or else the white rhinoceros can go extinct.