War has been declared between conservationists and syndicates of ruthless poachers who will stop at nothing to plunder South Africa’s natural resources.
The latest, horrible, news reports reveal that another three rhino have been found slaughtered in KwaZulu-Natal in the past week; their peaceful lives snuffed out so that conscienceless criminals can make a fast buck from our wildlife heritage. And it’s happening just a two-hour drive north of Umhlanga, in the Hluhluwe-St Lucia region.
According to News24, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife CEO Bandile Mkhize confirmed the grim news of the killing of a rhino in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park: “Field rangers discovered the de-horned carcass of a young adult male white rhino in the southern area of the Western Shores of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (on November 26) . . . A post-mortem examination established that the animal was probably shot about a week earlier,” Mkhize said in a statement.
Field rangers in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, just two hours north of Umhlanga, found the de-horned carcasses of two more white rhinos in the iMfolozi section of the park on Monday.
Despite these losses, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife remained “optimistic” about the fight against rhino poaching.
The war against rhino syndicates
It’s believed that a total of 289 rhinos have been poached countrywide since the start of the year. In parts of the East, rhino horn can fetch up to R400 000 a kilogram.
We believe it’s time heavier resources were brought to bear to try to rid our province, in particular, of this scourge. Clearly the killers will not be influenced by media outrage or the best efforts of wildlife services, who do their utmost with limited resources.
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