The Battle For Survival

Numbers of the Southern Ground-Hornbill have de-creased throughout its range.

- David Allan

Rwanda, Burundi, Eswatini and to some extent Malawi now support only remnant populations, restricted to tiny protected areas. Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa boast larger populations, but the species has lost 70 to 90 per cent of its original range in some of these states and it is now common only in large protected areas. The countries where it is apparently faring best are Zambia and Tanzania. We don’t know the size of the total population, but it is believed there are fewer than 1500 birds in South Africa, with half of these now confined to the Kruger National Park and adjacent conservation areas. Not surprisingly, this hornbill is currently classified as globally Vulnerable.