National Park · Zimbabwe · 140,000 hectares
Matusadona National Park
The black rhino came home.
Matusadona National Park: the numbers, sourced
As of July 2026.
- 17 black rhino — returned in June 2026 — the first on Kariba's southern shore in ~30 years; plan is 30–50 into a 175 km² protection zone. African Parks; ZimParks, June 2026.
- ~6,000 animals — moved into the area by Operation Noah as Kariba Dam flooded the valley. Africa Geographic, 1958–1964.
- 20-year agreement — ZimParks and African Parks management partnership. African Parks, November 2019.
- ~40 lions — current population, slowly rebuilding. Africa Geographic, current.
What was lost at Matusadona National Park?
Matusadona was born of a rescue: Operation Noah (1958–1964) moved some 6,000 animals ahead of the rising waters of Kariba Dam, and the new lakeshore park became famous for one of Africa's densest lion populations. Then poaching took every black rhino, and for about thirty years the park had none. Lion numbers slid with the buffalo.
What brought it back?
In November 2019 the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority signed a 20-year agreement with African Parks. In June 2026 the first 17 black rhino came home — sourced from Imire and Matobo — into a 175 km² Intensive Protection Zone, the opening phase of a plan to bring in 30 to 50 (African Parks; ZimParks).
What is it like now?
Matusadona runs about 140,000 hectares from the Zambezi escarpment down to Lake Kariba's shore. Around 40 lions hold the valley floor (Africa Geographic), elephant are thriving, and the rhino IPZ is under round-the-clock monitoring — year one of the return is happening right now.
Who does the work?
ZimParks and African Parks rangers run the Intensive Protection Zone; the Matusadona Conservation Trust oversees a further 725 km² of adjacent lake recreational park. The lake camps — reachable by boat — are the park's funding line.
How do you visit Matusadona National Park?
Stay on the lake — Rhino Safari Camp's stilted chalets or Changa Safari Camp's tented suites, both reached by boat across Kariba. Being there in year one of the rhino's return is the kind of trip people tell their grandchildren about.
Or have the whole journey designed for you — Cape to Nile designs custom African safaris.
Booking links may earn TravelConservation a commission at no cost to you. The visit is what funds the work.