All articles tagged with #rhino poaching
A South African university has initiated a program to inject rhino horns with harmless radioactive isotopes, making them detectable by customs to combat poaching, with initial trials showing promising results for identifying traffickers and protecting the declining rhino population.
A study in Science shows that dehorning rhinos in African reserves led to a 78% decrease in poaching, suggesting it as a temporary measure to protect rhinos while addressing demand and other issues persist.
South Africa's battle against rhino poaching has intensified, with 499 rhinos hunted in 2023, an increase of 51 from the previous year. The Hluhluwe-Imfolozi National Park in KwaZulu-Natal province has become a new hotspot for poaching, while the Kruger National Park saw a reduction in poaching. Efforts to combat poaching include improved fencing, increased patrollers, de-horning, and an anti-corruption drive. However, critics argue that better intelligence gathering on poaching gangs is needed to effectively address the issue.
South Africa reported a sharp increase in rhino poaching, with almost 500 animals killed in 2023, mostly in state-run parks, driven by demand from Asia for their horns. Conservationists are alarmed and calling for urgent deployment of more resources to tackle poaching rings, particularly in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, where the Hluhluwe–Imfolozi park alone lost 307 animals. While there has been some success in tightening security in certain areas, the poaching crisis continues to threaten the rhino population, despite recent gains in rhino numbers across Africa.