Effect of rainfall on White Rhino calf survival depends on home range choice of the mother.

This article investigates how seasonal rainfall and habitat composition within maternal home ranges affect the survival of white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) calves in Ithala Game Reserve, South Africa, from 1999 to 2019. It finds that 24% of calves died primarily during their first dry season after weaning began, with survival positively influenced by dry season rainfall and negatively by dry season duration. These effects were more pronounced in home ranges with higher woodland availability (reserve resources) but lower availability of bunch grasslands (buffer resources), suggesting that a combination of prolonged dry seasons, low rainfall, and insufficient buffer resources contributed to calf mortality. The study highlights potential challenges for white rhino conservation under climate change scenarios predicting longer, drier dry seasons, emphasizing the limited ability of mothers to adjust home range locations to mitigate these impacts.