Black rhinoceros in the context of "Flagship species"

A game reserve (also known as a game park) is a large area of land where wild animals are hunted in a controlled way for sport. If hunting is prohibited, a game reserve may be considered a nature reserve; however, the focus of a game reserve is specifically the animals (fauna), whereas a nature reserve is also, if not equally, concerned with all aspects of native biota of the area (plants, animals, fungi, etc.).

Many game reserves are located in Africa. Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris. Historically, among the best-known hunting targets were the so-called Big Five game in Africa: rhinoceros (white rhinoceros as well as black rhinoceros), elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard, and lion, named so because of the difficulty and danger in hunting them.

Etosha National Park is a national park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. It was designated as Wildschutzgebiet in 1958, and was awarded the status of national park in 1967, by an act of parliament of the Republic of South Africa. It spans an area of 22,270 km (8,600 sq mi) and was named after the large Etosha pan which is almost entirely within the park. With an area of 4,760 km (1,840 sq mi), the Etosha pan covers 23% of the total area of the national park. The area is home to hundreds of species of mammals, birds and reptiles, including several threatened and endangered species such as the black rhinoceros. Sixty-one black rhinoceros were killed during poaching in Namibia during 2022, 46 of which were killed in Etosha.

The park is located in the Kunene region and shares boundaries with the regions of Oshana, Oshikoto and Otjozondjupa.

The narrow-nosed rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hemitoechus), also known as the steppe rhinoceros, is an extinct species of rhinoceros belonging to the genus Stephanorhinus that lived in western Eurasia, including Europe, and West Asia, as well as North Africa during the Pleistocene. It first appeared in Europe around 500,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene and survived there until at least 34,000 years Before Present, possibly surviving as late as 15,500 years ago in the Middle East. On average around 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb) in weight, it was comparable in size to the living black rhinoceros. The species was native to temperate and Mediterranean environments, ranging from forest to grasslands, where it fed on low growing plants and to a lesser extent woody plants. It reached its maximum geographical extent during interglacial periods, when its range would extend at least as far north as Germany and northern England. It was one of the last species of Stephanorhinus alongside Merck's rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis), with the two species occurring alongside each other in some parts of Europe and the Caucasus. Evidence has been found that the narrow-nosed rhinoceros was exploited for food by archaic humans, including Neanderthals. Like other Stephanorhinus species, its closest living relative is the Sumatran rhinoceros.