Four Rhino Poachers Shot Dead by Rangers in South Africa

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Four poachers died after two separate armed incidents in Kruger National Park

Four suspected rhino poachers have died in two separate incidents in South Africa’s renowned Kruger National Park this month (June).

On 14 June in the Kruger, patrolling rangers say they ‘made contact’ with suspected poachers who were armed with an axe, a high calibre rifle and what is described as poaching equipment.

A suspect was fatally wounded in the firefight with an unknown number of others managing to escape the patrol, South Africa National Park (SANParks) said.

Four days later rangers came across another armed group of suspected rhino poachers. The incident saw three suspects fatally wounded. A heavy calibre rifle, ammunition and unspecified poaching equipment was confiscated at the scene.

Armed Park Ranger standing near his bike looking through binoculars for game or poachers on a dirt road

SANParks said the incidents, one shortly after the other, again highlight the dangerous conditions facing Kruger rangers.

A spokesperson said: ‘Incursions on the eastern boundary are relentless and anti-poaching units are under pressure as it addresses these.

‘SANParks is also exploring interventions which include community mobilisation and support to push back against the threats poaching presents.’

Poacher Territory

The park, which borders Mozambique and Zimbabwe, has long been a target for poachers but, for the first time last year, KwaZulu-Natal surpassed it as the area where rhinos were most at risk from illegal hunting.

Related Story Meet the New Female Rangers Waging War on Poaching

Figures released by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment say Kruger lost 78 rhino to poachers last year with KwaZulu-Natal, mainly in its Hluhluwe/iMfolozi game reserve, losing 307 in the same period.

Last year across the country 499 rhinos were hunted, an increase of 51 from the previous year, South Africa’s Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said.

South Africa is home to most of the world’s rhinos with some 2,000 black rhinos, considered to be critically endangered, and around 13,000 white rhinos, classed as near threatened.

Rhino horns have been in huge demand in Asian states such as China and Vietnam, where they are used in traditional medicines, although this usage has no scientific basis.

Creecy said her department had undertaken an extensive de-horning programme, making the rhinos less attractive to poachers. It has also gone on an anti-corruption drive to prevent park officials from colluding with gangs.

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