Air Charter Service (ACS) has facilitated the transportation of 39 white rhinoceroses from Namibia to Dallas, Texas, in collaboration with a prominent South African conservation and relocation company.

This effort is part of three targeted breeding programs aimed at preserving the species' unique genetics in the country.

Lyndee du Toit, CEO of ACS Africa, said the purpose of the project is to responsibly and ethically conserve the endangered white rhino population and preserve the Namibian rhinos' unique genetics against poaching.

"It is the largest translocation of rhino ever undertaken and required many months of careful planning, working in close collaboration with the conservation and relocation company and the airline," du Toit added.

The ACS Africa chief noted that the company has been involved in several flights transporting these creatures over the past few years.

"In 2021, we arranged a charter to move 30 rhinos from a South African reserve to their new home in Rwanda, in what was then the largest single translocation project. This latest flight, with 39 rhinos, becomes the most rhinos ever to have flown on one aircraft,"  du Toit said.

She added that there was an intricate load plan to fit all the oversized containers on board the Boeing B747, but once aboard, the team of veterinarians were able to personally look after the animals for the duration of the flight to the US.

Due to the rhinos' combined weight of 80 tons, a fuel stop in Sal, Cape Verde, was necessary before landing at Dallas Fort Worth Airport. There, they were unloaded under the full supervision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before their onward journeys.