February 15: A report on the News 24 website highlights the shocking stats illustrating the continuing decimation of our rhino population. At least 52 rhino have already been killed in South Africa this year thus far, and The Mercury newspaper reported this morning that it’s believed another two rhino have been taken at a private game lodge near Hluhluwe. This will bring the number killed in KZN in 2012 to eight.
The hardest hit areas continue to be the Kruger National Park and Limpopo province with 26 and 13 rhino poached there respectively, SANparks said.
The CEO of SANParks, Dr David Mabunda, commented on the SANparks website: “It is worrying that we are still losing such a high number of rhinos throughout the country. The most encouraging area in this whole saga is the increasing number of arrests and the steeper sentences that are being imposed on convicted criminals.”
According to stats on the website, no arrests have yet been made in KZN relating to rhino poaching this year, while four arrests were made in 2011 and 25 arrests in 2010.
Want to join the fight to help protect the rhino? Click on the link for “Unite Against Poaching”. – Ridge Correspondent