Five rhino killed in less than two weeks
Five white rhino have been killed and two others have survived de-horning in less than two weeks in KwaZulu-Natal.
On Monday morning, tourists discovered a rhino carcass near Memorial Gate in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) and reported it authorities, Zululand Observer reported.
Rangers found the carcass and also two de-horned, dazed rhinos and a calf that survived the poaching incident.
“It is suspected the rhinos were darted,” said Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo.
He added the surviving rhinos were being looked after in secure bomas in HiP. Mntambo said no implements were recovered from the scene. No arrests have yet been made.
Last Friday, KwaZulu Private Game Reserve near Pongola lost three rhino to poaching and iSimangaliso Wetland Park lost one in the Ozabeni section on Tuesday.
As of August 27 2015, South Africa’s total poached rhinos stood at 749, an increase of 33 on 2014’s total for the same period.
In KZN, the number of rhino poached this year stands at 75.
In her third report-back on rhino poaching, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa spoke of the Department of Environmental Affairs’ (DEA) numerous strategies to combat poaching.
These include the Biodiversity Economy Strategy, which aims to strengthen community involvement in conservation.
The strategy’s wildlife transformation agency ensures the provision of sustainable alternative livelihood strategies for communities, including community ownership of rhino. Furthermore, environmental monitors have been deployed to areas suffering high levels of poaching and are tasked with educating communities on the benefits of conservation and rhino protection.
The DEA has also implemented environmental crime awareness training with magistrates and prosecutors across the country.
– Caxton News Service
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