A male rhino was brazenly killed by poachers at an upscale game lodge in KZN.
A young rhino was killed Friday night at the Karkloof Spa near Pietermaritzburg by poachers who shot him with an AK47.
According to News 24, the eight-year-old rhino was found on Saturday morning, with both horns missing and an AK47 cartridge nearby. The game manager at the reserve said this particular rhino was a familiar sight on the property.
The rhino was born here on the property. We would see him on a daily basis. We have now lost our breeding bull.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife investigator Rod Potter noted that there had so far been 11 poaching cases in the province this year.
This latest incident brings the year’s total to 127 rhinos reportedly killed in South Africa by poachers.
Demand for illegal rhino horn
The demand for illegal rhino horn has driven rhino poaching to new heights over the past few years.
In 2007, South Africa lost 13 rhinos to poachers. However, in 2008 the number spiked to 83, and increased again in 2009 to 122.
Recent research by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC found that most illegal rhino horn leaving southern Africa is destined for consumer markets in China and Vietnam, where it is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Rhino horn is considered a valuable ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine and historically used as a treatment for a wide variety of ailments, including fever, boils, anxiety – and even devil possession.
However, extensive scientific analysis has found that rhino horn actually contains no curative properties – and has been compared to having the same medicinal effect as chewing one’s own fingernails.
Source: News 24
Image via Wikimedia Commons
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