South Africa: 1175 rhinos killed by poachers in 2015!

According to South Africa's Environmental Affairs Minister Ednah Molewa, a total of 1175 rhinos got killed by poachers in South Africa in 2015. Of these, 826 were poached in the Kruger National Park. To put this into context: South Africa lost 333 rhinos to illegal poaching in 2010, 448 rhinos in 2011, 668 rhinos in 2012, 1004 rhinos in 2013 and 1215 rhinos in 2014.
During 2015, a total of 317 poachers were arrested for rhino poaching related offences in South Africa. Of these, 202 were arrested in the Kruger National Park and 115 in the area adjacent to Kruger. This is a marked increase in arrests from 258 in 2014. A total of 125 firearms were seized inside the Kruger National Park in 2015, and 63 just outside the Park – a total of 188 compared to the 148 in 2014.

According to a new census of the rhino population conducted by South African National Parks (SANParks) in 2015, Kruger National Park is home to between approximately 8 400 to 9 300 white rhinos.