Illegally dehorned rhino.
Since the easing of lockdown restrictions, rhino poaching in South Africa was 15 per cent higher than the preceding year as coronavirus restrictions that limited movement were eased.
This is according to official figures from government and wildlife conservationists.
A total of 451 animals were killed in 2021, which is still 24 per cent lower than the pre-pandemic year 2019, according to reports from the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.
Of the total, 327 animals were slaughtered in government national parks while 124 were targeted in private game reserves.
The Kruger National Park (KNP) in Limpopo is where most of the country’s rhinos are being poached. About 80% of the world’s rhinos live in South Africa.
Sixty-six alleged poachers were arrested within KNP in 2020 and 90 people were arrested for rhino poaching and horn trafficking outside the park.
Rhinos are killed for their horns, which are often used in Asia for medicines and remedies.
About 1,000 rhinos were killed each year between 2013 and 2017, according to Save the Rhino, an animal rights group.
After the outbreak of the pandemic, conservationist feared poaching in Africa would increase due to the lack in tourism dollars, which resulted in a loss of crucial funding for animal reserves.
In light of the high incidence of rhino poaching, the African rhinoceros might become extinct in the wild in the near future. Scholars from a variety of disciplines have analysed drivers of illegal hunting and poaching behaviour in general terms.
Reports from wildlife activists paint an alarming picture of species extinctions, wildlife population declines, habitat loss, and depletion of ecosystem services confirming that we are losing nature at a dramatic and unsustainable rate. Rhinos are often being pushed out of their current habitat.
Wildlife tourism attracts substantial numbers of tourists worldwide with Limpopo parks as some of the major wildlife viewing destination earning the bulk of its tourism revenue from such tourism.
Iconic animals, such as the rhino, are major attractions for tourists to the province who holds a substantial population of the world’s rhino numbers.
However, the rapid increase in rhino poaching activities has reached a crisis point and should the rate of poaching continue to increase Africa’s remaining rhino population will become extinct in the wild within 20 years.