The southern white rhinos, thought to be the largest single population of their kind, were put up for auction in April with a starting price of $10 million.
But the conservation group African Parks announced this month that it had reached a deal to take over the herd.
“We felt we had a moral obligation to step in,” Peter Fearnhead, the group’s co-founder and chief executive, said.
The 30-square-mile farm, Platinum Rhino, about 100 miles southwest of Johannesburg, was set up in 2009 by John Hume, a businessman originally from Zimbabwe.
Mr. Hume has said that he created the farm because he wanted to help rhinos by building up their numbers.
Persons:
” Peter Fearnhead, John Hume, Hume
Organizations:
African Parks, Rhino
Locations:
South Africa, Johannesburg, Zimbabwe