Bloody year for rhinos in KZN

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Durban - Seventy-seven rhinos have been poached in KwaZulu-Natal this year – eight less than in the whole of last year – raising fears that this could be bloodiest year on record for the province.

The grim statistics spiked after authorities discovered three rotting carcasses in the Zululand area last week.

Ezemvelo Wildlife spokesman Musa Mntambo said two were found on the Double H Farm near the Thanda Private Game Reserve outside Hluhluwe on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Another was discovered not far away, at the Mduna Royal Private Game Reserve, on Thursday, he said.

“The first two rhinos on the Double H farm were killed on the same day, but their bodies were found on different days.”

Mntambo said the wildlife authority was continuing to work with law enforcement authorities and local communities to combat and fight poaching in KZN. “We are intensifying our efforts through working with the police and the rhino poaching task team.”

Department of Environmental Affairs spokesman Albi Modise said the latest national statistics on rhino deaths would be released this week after they had been collated.

Figures released early in October showed that 791 rhinos had been poached by the end of September.

Last year was the deadliest on record for poaching, with 1 004 incidents. But authorities are fighting back.

On Friday police, together with SARS Customs and Excise, seized 41kg of rhino horn valued at R4.5 million at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.

Two Vietnamese men, believed to be part of a large rhino horn syndicate, were arrested by the police’s National Crime Intelligence Division.

According to police it was the largest haul discovered.

The Vietnamese men had been booked on a Qatar Airways flight destined for Hanoi, Vietnam, from Maputo.

The aircraft made a one-hour scheduled stop at OR Tambo on Friday night, during which passengers were expected to remain inside the aircraft.

“However, all passengers were requested to exit the aircraft and proceed to the international departures area, where bags containing approximately 41kg of horns were discovered and the two men arrested,” police spokeswoman Brigadier Sally de Beer said.

“This is the largest haul of rhino horns seized in one operation in South Africa. It is believed that these horns were removed from rhinos in South Africa. The Vietnamese men are in custody and are expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court on Monday (today),” she said.

The arrests came in the wake of similar successes at South African National Parks (SanParks) reserves where a record 54 suspected poachers were arrested last month.

SanParks spokesman Reynold Thakhuli said that two poachers were shot dead and six others arrested in two separate operations last week.

In the first, rangers made contact with three suspected rhino poachers. In the ensuing pursuit, two were killed and the third managed to escape back into Mozambique. A hunting rifle, ammunition and other hunting equipment was recovered on the scene.

In the second operation, six suspects were arrested by the SanParks’ Environmental Crime Investigative Unit, with the support of the SAPS, in a follow-up operation outside the western boundary of the Kruger National Park (KNP).

A hunting rifle, ammunition and two cars were confiscated, Thakhuli said.

The arrests follow two weeks of successful operations during which 35 suspected poachers were arrested, bringing the number of arrests at KNP for October to a record 54.

“The KNP has experienced an increase in armed incursions recently, resulting in 14 contacts between armed poaching gangs and joint forces consisting of SANParks rangers, SAPS and SANDF,” he said.

“The latest arrests bring the total for the year within the KNP to 144. This is the highest number of suspected poachers arrested in the KNP to date.”

Acting SanParks chief executive Nomvuselelo Songelwa praised the rangers, police and the defence force for their “courage and tenacity”.

“We are very proud of them and their actions. We are focused on winning this war at all costs and I can promise South Africans that we will leave nothing to chance in protecting our rhino in this iconic park and in our other national parks,” Songelwa said.

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