21 Rhino's killed in 2011

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We’re into the second month of 2011 and its not looking good for South Africa’s rhino population.

As of yesterday, a total of twenty-one rhino’s have been poached in South Africa. The killing of 21 rhino is devastating, as its only the beginning of the year. Last year, a total of 333 rhino’s were poached in South Africa. January 2011 also saw the killing of the Cape's first white rhino !!!

During January 2011, 31 people were arrested throughout the country – 16 in North West, 10 in Kruger National Park (KNP) three in Gauteng and two in Limpopo. Five suspected rhino poachers died during skirmishes with park rangers in the KNP, while two had been wounded and were hospitalized.

In an effort to try and curtail poaching, SANParks announced the implementation of a new tool to assist with the fight against rhino poaching. By documenting individual rhino DNA and using this information to link recovered rhino horns to specific crime scenes, individuals would be able to be linked directly to those specific crime scenes. This would assist police and it would be easier to prosecute them.

Keep going SANParks, we cannot afford to loose anymore rhino!

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