The first four of 10 rhinos to be relocated from the Nairobi National Park to the Meru National Park, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) northeast of the capital, left for their new home on Wednesday, Kenya Wildlife Servicespokeswoman Connie Maina told AFP.

Twenty three other rhinos are to be moved to Meru from Lake Nakuru National Park, west of the capital, as well as two private game preserves, the Lewa Downs and Solio Ranches in the central Rift Valley, by the time the exercise ends on February 5, she said.

"The relocation is part of a rhino conservation strategy," Maina said, noting that Meru's rhino population had been hard hit by illegal hunting, mainly for the animals horns, in the 1970s and 80s. "We will ensure that we have balanced stocking of these animals in all major parks in the country."

Of the 33 rhinos earmarked for the French-funded 400,000-euro (481,000-dollar) relocation, 10 of them are white rhinos, one of the most endangered species in the world, and the remainder are the rather more common black rhinos.

Between 1963 and 1989, Kenya's rhino population declined by about 88 percent due to massive poaching, prompting authorities in the east African nation to start conservation programmes, which included allowing private ranches to keep the animals.

According to the KWS, there are about 435 black rhinos and 200 white rhinos in Kenya, but conservationists have in the past accused the government agency of overestimating the population.

The KWS intends to create a 2,000-strong genetically viable population of white and black rhinos in the wild in Meru and other sanctuaries.

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