South Africa: New rhino poaching figures!

South Africa's Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has released the rhino poaching figures for the first six month of 2023. A total of 231 rhino have been poached for their horn in South Africa between 01 January 2023 and 30 June 2023. Forty-two rhinos were poached in the Kruger National Park and 143 in KwaZulu-Natal Province. Forty-six of the rhinos killed were in privately-owned nature reserves and 143 in provincially owned reserves.

The provincial and national breakdown for January to June 2023 is as follows:

• SANParks - 42 rhinos killed by poachers
• Gauteng - 0 rhino killed by poachers
• Limpopo - 20 rhinos killed by poachers
• Mpumalanga - 5 rhinos killed by poachers
• North West - 5 rhinos killed by poachers
• Eastern Cape - 15 rhinos killed by poachers
• Free State - 0 rhino killed by poachers
• Northern Cape - 0 rhino killed by poachers
• Kwa-Zulu Natal - 143 rhinos killed by poachers
• Western Cape - 1 rhino killed by poachers

South Africa: New rhino poaching figures!

South Africa's Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries has released the rhino poaching figures for the first six month of 2022. A total of 259 rhino have been poached for their horn in South Africa between January and June 2022. The number of rhino poached during this period is 10 more than the 249 poached countrywide in the first six months of 2021. From January to end of June 2022, 82 rhino were poached for their horns in the Kruger National Park. 

The current poaching numbers show a loss of 210 rhino on state properties and 49 in privately-owned parks. Hardest hit during this period is KwaZulu-Natal which recorded a loss of 133 rhino. This is more than triple the 33 rhino killed in the first six months of 2021.
Between January and June 2022, 69 people were arrested in connection with rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking.  Of these, 13 alleged poachers were arrested in the Kruger National Park.

Historic return of rhinos to Mozambique! [update]

update (31 August 2022): Zinave National Park in Mozambique has received 27 rhinos in the past two months. According to Bernard van Lente, project manager of the Peace Parks foundation, 54 men have been trained by Peace Parks to reinforce security in the national park and a helicopter to reinforce the patrol work, which is on site day and night, has been requested.

Zinave National Park in Mozambique is set to become the first “big five” National Park in the country and the host of the first founder population of the critically endangered black rhino and the near threatened white rhino. After becoming locally extinct more than 40 years ago, diversified resources company, Exxaro Resources, and southern African NGO, Peace Parks Foundation, are spearheading the project to reintroduce both rhino species to the National Park in 2022. Zinave National Park, which is co-managed between Mozambique's National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) and Peace Parks, is situated in the district of Mambone near the Save river in the Inhambane Province of Mozambique. 

(c) Peace Parks Foundation

Since 2016 an intensive rewilding programme has reintroduced more than 2 300 game animals representing 14 different species into Zinave National Park. This has included rewilding the park with buffalo, elephant and leopard. In September 2021, the first lions were also recorded in Zinave after a 40-year absence.

KwaZulu-Natal: Shocking rhino poaching figures!

According to the "Daily Maverick", a South African daily online newspaper, at least 75 rhinos have been illegally killed by poachers in South Africa's province of KwaZulu-Natal since the beginning of 2022 (01 January - 04 April 2022). Almost all of the 75 animals were poached in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa and the flaghip park of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. A total of 102 rhinos got illegally killed by poachers in 2021 in KwaZulu-Natal and 93 rhinos in 2020. The "Daily Maverick" quotes Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo saying that rhinos had been dehorned in most of the agency’s smaller reserves, but he was not aware of any plans to dehorn animals in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is a governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wildlife conservation areas and biodiversity in South Africa's province of KwaZulu-Natal. 

Rwanda: Akagera National Park welcomes 30 white rhinos in largest-ever single translocation!

In the largest single rhino translocation ever undertaken, 30 white rhinos have been introduced to Akagera National Park in Rwanda in November 2021. The rhinos were sourced from the andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The translocation was carried out through a collaboration between the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), African Parks and andBeyond, with funding provided by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The rhinos will be monitored daily in Akagera National Park by a dedicated team and a specialist veterinarian who will be overseeing their acclimation. Each rhino has also been fitted with a transmitter to enable constant monitoring by dedicated tracking teams; a canine anti-poaching unit and helicopter surveillance are also in place to provide further support for their long-term protection.
The translocation of the 30 rhino to Akagera National Park aims to extend the white rhino range and create a secure new breeding stronghold in Rwanda, supporting population growth to ensure the long-term survival of the species in the wild as high-levels of poaching continue to exert unsustainable pressure on current populations. In the recent years, lions (2015) as well as black rhino (2017 and 2019) have already been successfully reintroduced to Akagera National Park.

White rhinos introduced to Akagera in Rwanda
© Gael Vande Weghe & African Parks

Akagera National Park is a protected area in eastern Rwanda covering 1,122 km² along the international border with Tanzania. The National Park is Central Africa’s largest protected wetland and the last remaining refuge for savannah-adapted species in Rwanda.

Poaching crisis: Botswana moves all rhinos out of Okavango Delta!

According to a media statement by Dr Kabelo J. Senyatso, the director at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Botswana's Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Botswana has lost 99 rhinos to poaching activities between 2010 and 2020. 97 of the 99 rhinos got illegally killed by poachers between 2018 and 2020 (2018: 5; 2019: 30; 2020: 62), while the remaining two animals were poached in 2013 and 2016 respectivley. Due to surge in poaching, the Government of Botswana has decided to move all rhinos out of the Okavango Delta into sanctuaries around Botswana. This environment is expected to allow for conservation and rapid propagation of the species under a secure and smaller area. Over the next years, the animals from the sanctuary will be used to re-populate other areas in Botswana, including the Okavango Delta. 

Kruger National Park: SANParks to set up security checkpoints in Kruger National Park!

South African National Parks (SANParks) is currently in the process of developing effective management strategies to protect the rhino population and more effectively manage wildlife crime and conservation in Kruger National Park in general. As part of this initiative, SANParks and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF)– Military Police will be setting up various security checkpoints in the Southern Section of Kruger National Park. These checkpoints aim to improve area integrity and will be conducted with minimum disturbance to the guests and visitors of Kruger National Park.

Namibia: New rhino and elephant poaching figures!

According to Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MET), the country has lost 23 rhinos and two elephants to poaching since the beginning of 2020. A total of 46 rhinos and 13 elephants got illegally killed by poachers in Namibia in 2019, compared to 57 rhinos and 26 elephants that lost their lives to poaching activities during 2018.
Namibia is home to the largest population of black rhino of the subspecies Diceros bicornis bicornis in the world. Approximately 93% of the total population of this taxon are found in the country (as of 31 December 2020). 

 

Namibia hosts a third of the entire remaining population of back rhino on the planet and the second largest white rhino population in the world after South Africa. The country also has the largest population of black rhinos in protected areas and the largest free roaming black rhino population in the world.  
Between 2012 and 2018, the black rhino (diceros bicornis) population across Africa has grown at a modest annual rate of 2.5% from an estimated 4,845 to 5,630 animals in the wild, respectively.

Namibia: New rhino and elephant poaching figures!

According to Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MET), the country has lost 17 rhinos and two elephants to poaching since the beginning of 2020. A total of 46 rhinos and 12 elephants got illegally killed by poachers in Namibia in 2019, compared to 57 rhinos and 26 elephants that lost their lives to poaching activities during 2018.  
Namibia has the second largest population of white rhinos in the world after South Africa and, according to Save the Rhino, it holds one-third of the world’s remaining black rhinos.

Botswana dehorns all rhinos in the Okavango Delta!

Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks has undertaken an operation to dehorn all black rhinos and white rhinos in the Okavango Delta, home to the majority of the country's wild rhino population. This operation was necessitated by the rise in rhino poaching over the past few years. Especially the Okavango Delta rhino population has been hard hit by the recent poaching surge with 56 animals reported poached as of 04 May 2020. The dehorning of all rhinos is accompanied by the intensification of surveillance and monitoring of rhinos in Botswana as well as the relocation of highly endangered black rhinos from the Okavango Delta to a secret location.

Namibia: New poaching figures!

According to the spokesperson of Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry & Tourism (MET), Romeo Muyunda, the number of poaching cases between January 2020 and May 2020 has dropped by 50% compared to the same period last year. Namibia has lost 13 animals to illegal poaching since January 2020, while the country recorded 26 poaching cases during the first five months of 2019.
Namibia has the second largest population of white rhinos in the world after South Africa and, according to Save the Rhino, it holds one-third of the world’s remaining black rhinos.

South Africa: All rhinos in Pilanesberg National Park have been dehorned!

The North West Parks Board, the governmental organisation responsible for the management of protected areas and public nature reserves in South Africa's North West Province, has announced the decision to trim the horns of all black rhinos and all white rhinos in Pilanesberg National Park. The dehorning of the animals has been done with the help of a veterinary services expert who arrived in Pilanesberg on 12 May 2020. According to a regarding press release, the motivation behind the the drastic measure of interventions was not only to save the species, but also to ensure that the "reward to poachers is reduced" and that "the risks to the poacher are increased". In addition the dehorning of Pilanesberg's rhinos, the North West Parks Board will also significantly increase the security efforts in the protected areas and public nature reserves under its management.
Pilanesberg National Park is home to one of the most important white rhino populations in South Africa and even the world. Both white and black rhino are adapting extemely well in the National Park and have been used to establish new populations across South Africa and neighboring Botswana. The rhino population of Pilanesberg National Park has been hit hard by illegal poaching for at least the past seven years. Over this period, the National Park lost at least 120 rhinos to poaching activities.

The Pilanesberg Nature Reserve (or Game Reserve, National Park) is situated 50km north of Rustenburg in the North West Province of South Africa and borders on the famous Sun City entertainment complex. The wildlife sanctuary has an area of 572 km² and accommodates virtually every mammal of southern Africa, including the Big Five. There are nearly 200 km of excellent quality roads for either self-drives or guided drives.

Namibia: New rhino and elephant poaching figures!

According to Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MET), the country has lost eleven rhinos and one elephant to poaching since the beginning of 2020. The poaching took place in Etosha National Park as welll as inside private owned farms.
A total of 45 rhinos and 12 elephants got illegally killed by poachers in Namibia in 2019, compared to 57 rhinos and 26 elephants that lost their lives to poaching activities during 2018. Namibia has the second largest population of white rhinos in the world after South Africa and, according to Save the Rhino, it holds one-third of the world’s remaining black rhinos.

Namibia: New rhino and elephant poaching figures!

According to Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, the country has lost nine rhinos and one elephant to poaching since the beginning of 2020. The poaching took place inside private owned farms and in Namibia's National Parks.
A total of 45 rhinos and 12 elephants got illegally killed by poachers in Namibia in 2019, compared to 57 rhinos and 26 elephants that lost their lives to poaching activities during 2018. Namibia has the second largest population of white rhinos in the world after South Africa and, according to Save the Rhino, it holds one-third of the world’s remaining black rhinos.

South Africa: New rhino poaching figures (January - June 2019)! [update]

update (24 September 2019): According to South Africa's Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Ms Barbara Creecy, Kruger National Park lost 190 rhinos in the first six months of this year. [src.]

South Africa's Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Ms Barbara Creecy, announced during her speech at the World Ranger Day commemoration at the Ranger Memorial at the Kruger Gate to the Kruger National Park on 31 July 2019 that in the first six months of 2019, 318 rhinos (2018: 386) have been poached in South Africa. From January 2019 to June 2019, 122 alleged poachers were arrested within the Kruger National Park. Nationally, 253 arrests were effected in the first half of 2019 in respect of both rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking. A total of 61 firearms were recovered during operations in the the Kruger National Park in this period.

KwaZulu-Natal: Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife releases first rhino poaching numbers for 2019!

According to Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, the governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wildlife conservation areas and biodiversity in KwaZulu-Natal, 59 rhinos have been poached in the province since the beginning of 2019. Around 55 rhino have been slaughtered for their horn during the same period last year. 39 alleged poachers have been arrested and 16 firearms have been seized in KwaZulu-Natal so far in 2019. According to the official statistics of South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs, 142 rhinos were killed in KwaZulu-Natal in 2018, while a total of 769 rhinos got illegally killed by poachers in South Africa during that year.

Kenya released rhino & elephant poaching statistics for 2017!

Kenya's Ministry of Tourism (and Wildlife?) has released the rhino and elephant poaching numbers for 2017. According to Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism & Wildlife, the country lost nine rhinos and 60 elephants to poachers in 2017. In 2016, Kenya lost 14 rhinos and 96 elephants to illegal poaching activities.