British soldiers have helped to relocate critically-endangered black rhinos as part of efforts to protect the animals against poaching.

Troops from the 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles have recently come back from a three-month counter-poaching deployment in Malawi, southeastern Africa.

Based in Liwonde National Park, near the border with Mozambique, they worked in conjunction with African Parks, a conservation organisation.

They trained current and new rangers in a bid to crackdown on the illegal trade by improving the effectiveness of patrols.

While they were there, the soldiers helped with one of the biggest international rhino translocations so far, offloading the 1.4-tonne animals which had been transported by air and road from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

The mission saw 17 black rhinos moved from South Africa to Malawi, according to African Parks.

There are around 5,500 black rhinos in the wild today.

Major Jez England, officer commanding British Army Counter-Poaching Team in Liwonde, described the operation as “hugely successful”.

He added: “Not only do we share skills with the rangers, improving their efficiency and ability to patrol larger areas, but it also provides a unique opportunity for our soldiers to train in a challenging environment.

“Helping with the rhino move was a fitting end to our time in Malawi, getting up close to the animals we are here to help protect was an experience the soldiers won't forget.”

The army has helped train 200 rangers in Malawi – and no high-value species have been poached in Liwonde since 2017.

Source: Sky News