Rhino Poaching 2017-2024

[Lisbeth]

How can a character like that be elected "Chief"?

No wonder that the country is becoming a "Gangster State"

[Richprins]

The chiefs are the ones generally the most closely connected to the governing party, that is why these killings happen...

[Lisbeth]

[Lisbeth]

phpBB [video]

It looks just as tough as the military training, if not more

[Richprins]

Rhino poaching continues to decrease as joint initiatives pay dividends

01 August 2023



In the first six months of 2023, 231 rhinos were killed in South Africa. These figures represent an eleven percent decrease (or a decline of 28 animals killed for their horn) compared to the same period last year. Between 1 January and 30 June 2023, poaching trends also continued to show a move away from the Kruger National Park to provincial and private reserves.

Forty-two rhinos were poached in the Kruger National Park and 143 in KwaZulu-Natal Province from January to June 2023. Forty-six of the rhinos killed were in privately-owned nature reserves and 143 in provincially owned reserves.

Because the demand for rhino horn remains a constant threat to rhino populations collaboration between the law enforcement agencies, including the SAPS, DPCI and the Green Scorpions, Customs officials, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and the National Prosecuting Authority, remain key. These efforts are supported by private security.

An important development in strengthening the collaboration between these role players in order to effectively address the organised nature of rhino poaching and wildlife trafficking, is Cabinet’s recent approval in May this year of the National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking (NISCWT).

“This strategy aims to break the illicit value chain of wildlife trafficking in South Africa and beyond its borders. It represents a commitment by government to direct law enforcement ability and effort and mobilize society support to address the threat wildlife tracking poses to national security and the country’s rich biodiversity. Although currently our main focus is rhino, the Strategy also aims to address the illegal trade in, and poaching of, other species that are threatened by trafficking syndicates, like abalone” said Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister, Ms Barbara Creecy.

In the first six months of this year our hard work with both the SAPS and the NPA has led to the conviction of 31 offenders. The majority of sentences were custodial. In Skukuza one suspect found guilty of killing 3 rhino and possession of unlawful arms and ammunition was sentenced to an effective 32 year imprisonment.

In another matter, 3 accused, found driving in Kruger National Park, with 5 rhino horns hidden in the vehicle, a hunting rifle with a silencer, ammunition and knives, were convicted for the killing of 3 rhinos in the park, possession of unlawful firearms and ammunition, possession of dangerous weapons and trespassing. Accused 1 and 2 were sentenced to 34 years imprisonment, whilst accused 3 was sentenced to 39 years imprisonment.

In Limpopo, an accused individual was sentenced on a charge of murder, killing of 2 rhinos, unlicenced firearm and ammunition to an effective sentence of 24 years imprisonment.

In the Eastern Cape, 6 accused were convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit rhino poaching (notably no rhinos were killed) and the possession of unlicenced firearm and ammunition and effectively sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 16 to 20 years.

Yesterday was World Ranger Day and so it is important today that we honour the bravery and dedication of the men and women who run our ranger services and who are on the front line of the battle against wildlife poaching.

The role of rangers in supporting the prosecution and sentencing of those arrested for wildlife crimes committed in the Kruger cannot be underestimated. There is strong collaboration between the SAPS forensic teams and SANParks ECI when attending crime scenes to ensure the collection of vital evidence to link suspects to the crime scenes. It is also done to ensure minimum contamination of the crime scene.

During the meeting held earlier this year with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)’s Environmental Working Group we discussed the challenge relating to the opposing of bail due to the fact that rhino poaching is not listed as a Scheduled Offence. Research is being conducted to propose, if viable, legislative amendments to address this challenge.

Unfortunately, rhino poachers have continued to target the Hluhluwe/iMfolozi game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal where Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, supported by the Department and iSimangaliso Wetland Park, continues to implement a number of measures to combat rhino poaching.

Among these has been the establishment of a Tactical Operations Joint Control Centre, which now facilitates the SAPS deployments to Hluhluwe/iMfolozi Park (HiP). The Department made available R40 million for the repair and replacement of the boundary fence around the Hluhluwe/iMfolozi game reserve which is regularly breached and through which wild animals can escape to nearby communities.

The National Prosecuting Authority has also designated a prosecutor to facilitate rhino cases in KZN and cases have been prioritised and identified to be expedited through the court processes.

In response to a range of studies that point out collusion between our ranger services and criminal syndicates, the Kruger National Park has developed a holistic Ranger Services – Integrity Management Plan.

This plan aims to improve ranger morale and resilience to corruption by providing services that enhance ranger health and well-being, provide training and counselling, offer a range of financial management services and debt management. The Ranger Service has also enlisted the Association of Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) Foundation to provide specialised Financial Literacy Training for all field rangers. This was attended by 334 employees.

SANParks has also established an integrity testing system (a polygraph policy) for new recruits and to support anti-corruption investigations.

To ensure safe passage of tourists en route to the park, SANParks has joined a task team championed by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Fish Mahlalela, in collaboration with the traditional leaders of adjoining communities, the SAPS and Private Security companies to ensure constant patrols along the identified hotspots en route to the Kruger National Park.

South Africa’s national parks are situated in areas of extreme poverty and are surrounded by many vulnerable communities. In order to ensure that communities on the outskirts of parks benefit from tourism and thus help to keep tourists safe, SANParks has held a number of stakeholder engagements with entrepreneurs in the past four years with regard to the provision of goods and services to our national parks. In addition, through Working for Water, Ecosystems and Wetlands programmes, we have created 33 222 Work opportunities for communities living on the outskirts of our national parks.

** Members of the public can report any suspicious activities around wildlife to its environmental crime hotline which is 0800 205 005 or the SAPS number 10111

For media inquiries contact:
Mr Peter Mbelengwa
Cell: 082 611 8197

Screenshot 2023-08-02 at 11-49-27 Rhino poaching continues to decrease as joint initiatives pay dividends Department of Environmental Affairs.png (16.59 KiB) Viewed 1383 times

[Lisbeth]

I wonder if the consumers in the Far East are informed properly about the situation

[Lisbeth]

More than 60% of rhino killings now in KwaZulu-Natal as poachers shift from ‘battered’ Kruger Park


Sightings of rhinos with their magnificent horns intact in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal are set to become increasingly rare due to the relentless horn poaching – and the possibility that the park’s rhinos will have to be dehorned to deter poachers (Photo: Tony Carnie)

By Tony Carnie | 01 Aug 2023

Fifteen years after South Africa was hit by an unprecedented wave of rhino-horn poaching, the slaughter rate remains relentless – with one rhino shot almost every day in KwaZulu-Natal, the historic heartland of global rhino conservation.
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More than 60% of the rhinos killed in South Africa so far in 2023 drew their last breaths in KwaZulu-Natal as poachers continue to shift more of their deadly firepower and axes to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, one of the world’s last strongholds of wild rhino conservation.

The latest poaching statistics for the first six months of 2023 show that 231 of these animals were gunned down nationally over this period. Of these, 143 rhinos (or more than 60% of the national total) were shot in reserves managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. In comparison, only 43 were poached in the much larger Kruger National Park that was home to more than 10,000 fewer than two decades ago.

Announcing the latest rhino poaching statistics at a media briefing at SA National Parks headquarters in Pretoria on 1 August, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said her officials were in discussion with Ezemvelo on further measures to stem the KZN slaughter in particular.


A member of the SA National Parks anti-poaching unit patrols a river bank after nightfall in the Kruger National Park. (Photo: Tony Carnie)

She confirmed that the option of dehorning rhinos in the 96,000ha Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park was one of the options being discussed, but no decisions had been taken yet.

In the interim, her department had provided R40-million to Ezemvelo to repair or replace numerous weak points in the reserve’s boundary fence “which is regularly breached and through which wild animals can escape to nearby communities”.

Creecy said a Tactical Operations Joint Control Centre had also been established recently to facilitate the deployment of South African Police Service personnel to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, while the National Prosecuting Authority had also designated a dedicated prosecutor to facilitate rhino poaching cases in KZN. Cases were also being “prioritised and identified to be expedited through the court processes”.

With regard to the Kruger Park, the 42 rhino killings there so far this year reflect an 11% decrease compared with the same period in 2022.


These two alleged poachers were stopped at a roadblock near Phongola in 2017. Two large rhino horns were found stuffed inside the engine compartment of the Mercedes-Benz they were driving.(Photo: SAPS )

Kruger’s rhino population has been “severely battered” over the past 15 years, Creecy acknowledged, but she declined to advertise the number of rhinos remaining in this park, or other rhino reserves nationwide.

Nevertheless, there are strong indications that the Kruger’s rhino population had dropped to about 2,500 – less than a quarter compared with two decades ago.

According to SANParks’ latest annual report (2021/22), more than 800 rhinos were dehorned in Kruger over the past financial year – an expensive and desperate measure to make the survivors less-attractive targets to poachers.

The SANParks report also notes that Kruger lost 195 rhinos to poachers during 2021/22, compared with 247 in the previous financial year.

Expensive tactic

While dehorning has been lauded as a successful strategy by many private-sector reserves to decrease poaching (or to deflect pressure to more vulnerable reserves) this remains an expensive option – especially considering that the animals’ horns have to be “retrimmed” regularly to remain effective.

Quite apart from debasing the iconic, horned grandeur of the second-largest mammal in the world – and their tourism appeal – recent research in KZN has also indicated that dehorning black rhinos may alter their natural behavioural ecology.

The nationwide poaching crisis began to escalate dramatically from about 2008 and reached a point where more than 1,000 of these animals were killed each year for nearly five years in succession.


A graph showing the steady decline in rhino poaching cases in the Kruger National Park. (Source SA National Parks Annual Report)

Since then, the poaching rate has declined – partly due to more intensive anti-poaching measures, but also reflecting the sombre fact that the national “larder” of rhinos has been steadily decimated by organised crime syndicates based in China and the Far East.

Is there any light at the end of this dark tunnel – or any long-term solution to the horn poaching crisis?

In response to this question, Creecy said she did not believe there was a “silver bullet” solution on the horizon.

“I think the reality is that there will continue to be a battle against rhino poachers for the foreseeable future.”

However, Creecy said she was encouraged by the apparent “steady decline” in poaching, while much stiffer sentences were being imposed on convicted poachers by the courts.

“In the first six months of this year our hard work with both the SAPS and the NPA has led to the conviction of 31 offenders. The majority of sentences were custodial. In Skukuza one suspect found guilty of killing three rhinos and possession of unlawful arms and ammunition was sentenced to an effective 32 years’ imprisonment.

“In another matter, three accused, found driving in Kruger National Park, with five rhino horns hidden in the vehicle, a hunting rifle with a silencer, ammunition and knives, were convicted for the killing of three rhinos in the park, possession of unlawful firearms and ammunition, possession of dangerous weapons and trespassing. Accused 1 and 2 were sentenced to 34 years imprisonment, while accused 3 was sentenced to 39 years.

“In Limpopo, an accused individual was sentenced on a charge of murder, killing of two rhinos, unlicensed firearm and ammunition to an effective sentence of 24 years’ imprisonment.

“In the Eastern Cape, six accused were convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit rhino poaching (notably no rhinos were killed) and the possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition and effectively sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 16 to 20 years.”

Lie-detector tests for new recruits

Paying tribute to the continued bravery and dedication of game rangers on the front line of wildlife poaching, she also noted that new recruits to SANParks would now have to undergo integrity testing (lie-detector or polygraph tests), though the current employment contracts of most existing rangers did not provide for such testing.

State conservation agencies were still “trying to reach agreements” with labour unions around mandatory integrity testing for all staff involved in rhino protection.

“In response to a range of studies that point out collusion between our ranger services and criminal syndicates, the Kruger National Park has developed a holistic Ranger Services – Integrity Management Plan.

“This plan aims to improve ranger morale and resilience to corruption by providing services that enhance ranger health and well-being, provide training and counselling, offer a range of financial management services and debt management.

“The Ranger Service has also enlisted the Association of Savings and Investment South Africa Foundation to provide specialised Financial Literacy Training for all field rangers. This was attended by 334 employees.”


Latest poaching stats. (Source: Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment)

Noting that many of South Africa’s national parks are adjacent to areas of extreme poverty, she said SANParks held a number of stakeholder engagements with entrepreneurs over the past four years aimed at expanding the provision of community goods and services to neighbouring national parks.

Responding to the latest poaching toll in its reserves, a spokesperson for Ezemvelo said: “There has been an ongoing discussion between the minister and our MEC, Mr S Duma, which has resulted in the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment committing to financially support the provincial fight against rhino poaching.

“The high numbers indicate that the rhino poaching syndicates have moved from Mpumalanga to KZN. We, however, shall continue to protect our rhinos to the best of our abilities using the available resources.”

The public can report any suspicious activities around wildlife to its environmental crime hotline on 0800 205 005 or the SAPS number 10111. DM

[Richprins]

I doubt there are 1000 rhino left in Kruger...

[Lisbeth]

[Lisbeth]

Keen to save rhinos? Focus on their rear ends – not their horns – says veteran conservationist


White rhino mother and calf. Mothers poached means calves orphaned – only the lucky ones survive. (Photo: Leon Molenaar / Flickr)

By Fred Kockott and Matthew Hattingh | 19 Sep 2023

Amid the increasingly bloody poaching conflict, a more nurturing approach is required to further rhino conservation, says a former head of conservation at SA National Parks.
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A name change as a child gave Hector Magome the steel to face life’s battles on his journey to become a leading rhino conservationist.

When the going gets tough, 62-year-old Magome likes to remember his mom, and how, when he was a boy of seven, she gave him a new name.

“She sat me down, touched both shoulders and said: ‘From today you are Hector. Don’t let anyone call you by your old name’.”

Hector, of course, recalls the mythical Greek hero of the Trojan War, a warrior revered for his bravery and honour. The name means “steadfast” or “holdfast”.

Magome describes his mother – who, as it happened, loathed her own name, Lettie – as both “an ordinary maid in Johannesburg during South Africa’s apartheid era” and a “fierce matriarch”.

She was a woman feared and respected by the family, including her parents.

“She had that aura of authority and the wisdom to know the power of a name,” says Magome.

“My mother went on to tell me that I was destined for great things… She died two years later, but those words have stuck in my head. They have always helped me to take on many of life’s battles.”

And for Magome, there have been battles aplenty.

The former head of conservation at SA National Parks (SANParks) has endured the boardroom kind, which led to his ousting on “spurious grounds”, faced up to the fight against rhino poaching, and overcame poverty in his own struggle to make it in the world.

Wide approach

On rhinos and their preservation, Magome believes a wider approach is needed and he will be explaining this at the 12th Oppenheimer Research Conference in Midrand from 4 to 6 October.

The annual conference has grown since 2010 to become an important event on the global academic calendar, showcasing innovative research in the environmental and natural sciences.

Magome, one of the conference’s key presenters, will reflect on a lifetime’s work on the frontline of protected area management, the surge in rhino poaching and wildlife trafficking over the past decade, and how state and private sector partnerships can combat wildlife crime.


It’s time for fortitude, will and savvy decision-making to secure a safe future for Africa’s rhinoceros, says Hector Magome. (Photo: Miya Thula Photography / September 2023)

Magome shares the vision of the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that wild African rhinos will thrive across the continent – if given the space and protection to do so.

He is encouraged by the latest statistics from the IUCN’s African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG) showing that rhino poaching abated within most African range states in 2022.

According to the AfRSG, the overall poaching rate on the continent is now below the 3.5% threshold above which populations will decline.



State of the Rhino

“And let’s not forget,” says Magome, “that all the white rhinos we have in South Africa today grew from fewer than 100 rhinos in the 1950s.”

At the CITES 19th Conference of the Parties (COP19) in Panama last year, the AfRSG reported that by the end of 2021, there were more than 15,024 rhinos (2,056 black rhinos and 12,968 white rhinos) in South Africa, making up 68% of the total of Africa’s free-roaming rhino population, estimated at 22,137.

Rhino populations have since gone up by more than 5%, says the AfRSG in a soon-to-be-released report.

Even amid the devastating poaching scourge, the AfRSG predicts that rhino populations will continue to increase in the various range states across Africa, in particular Namibia, Kenya, Mozambique, Botswana, Tanzania, Malawi, South Africa, and possibly Zimbabwe and Uganda.

But in South Africa, the poaching challenge has proven difficult to solve, says Magome.

When Magome joined SANParks in 1996, there were about 10,000 white rhinos in the Kruger National Park. Today there are barely 2,000.

Dismayed

Magome is dismayed by the failure of the state to protect rhinos in national parks, making them an easy target for poachers.


An inquisitive white rhino – viewed through a camera lens, rather than the sights of a gun. (Photo: Jacques Briam)

“All poachers know that the will to protect them is low,” says Magome. This is to be expected when “our law enforcement officers can’t even protect women and children”.

And he is particularly concerned about how vulnerable white rhinos are to poaching.

Unlike its cousin, the black rhino, which is aggressive and dangerous, white rhinos are “sitting ducks for bullets”, says Magome.

Bumbling giants

“They are bumbling giants that even ardent big game hunters should find repugnant to kill,” says Magome.

“They tame quickly, live in open areas, and do not run away (from people), so are easy pickings for poachers.”


White rhinos prefer herds which makes them easy targets for poachers. (Photo: Jacques Briam / Wild About The Wild)

Relocation drive

Faced with the poaching onslaught that was decimating white rhino populations in Kruger when he joined SANParks, Magome began moving many to private game reserves more capable of protecting them.

“You don’t fortify your house or property to fight a hurricane, you evacuate your valuables… The only solution was to move many rhinos to safer areas — a salvage operation,” says Magome.

By 2014, Magome had overseen the relocation of more than 1,500 Kruger white rhinos to private game farms where they served as breeding stock.

Then, amid plans to move an additional 250 rhinos out of Kruger, “puffed-up chameleon egos took over”, says Magome.

“I was pushed out on spurious allegations of not having the authority to sell the 250 white rhinos… The SANParks board later withdrew the charges, paid me out and asked me to leave.”

He moved on from SANParks, undaunted by media reports claiming he had acted improperly in overseeing the deal.

Rhino havens

“At the end of the day, I was proud of the role I played in helping establish rhino breeding programmes on private game reserves,” he says.

“They have become an increasingly critical haven for the species, and today support the largest number of white rhinos on the continent.”

Today, private game farms and communal lands conserve more than 50% of Africa’s rhino population.

Magome says the sale of these rhinos had also helped SANParks buy up farming land to increase the size of national parks to make them ecologically viable.

“Over a million hectares were added to SANParks. That was easy. Commercial farmers are businessmen who sold land when money offers were good.”

Controlled hunting

On concerns that some private game farms that bought Kruger’s rhinos were involved in the sports hunting industry, Magome, and the AfRSG, note that there are more black and white rhinos today in countries that allow hunting and controlled recreational hunting than in countries that don’t.

Although Magome is not an avid fan of big game hunting – “I would never want to hunt rhino, elephant or lion” – he says professional hunting does contribute significantly to conservation.

Without this revenue source, private rhino farmers and game reserves would lack the financial incentive to keep wild animals, says Magome.

He said this had already happened in the case of the largest white rhino farmer, John Hume.

“He recently sold about 2,000 rhinos to retire from rhino conservation.”

Life journey

At the time Magome left SANParks, it had already been quite a journey for the boy from Bapong – “a village between Brits and Rustenburg, in the North West Province, where the Marikana Massacre took place”.

Magome describes his childhood, as one of 10 siblings, as having been tough.

The family survived on a state pension from his grandparents and “a penny here and a pound there” earned by his grandparents working for others in the village.

“I was the only boy among the children. As a result, I was raised to do all the things that girls could do. That made me independent by the age of 12, and I was soon taking on part-time jobs after school, including garden work or picking crops for neighbouring white farmers.

“After I matriculated in 1981, I worked for a year to save enough money for first-year studies in BSc (Education) at the former University of Bophuthatswana.”

Diligence

“I knew that I was good enough to secure a bursary to complete my studies,” says Magome.

He says his diligence ultimately attracted the attention of biology professor Michael Parr, who encouraged him to study wildlife and nature conservation.

“After getting my degree, Prof Parr designed a full-time BSc Honours programme for me. Assisted by three mentors, I conducted research into grasses and the feeding habits of the white rhinoceros. Those field trips instilled in me an undying love for nature,” says Magome.

Mentors

These role models and other mentors helped Magome complete two, overlapping MSc degrees. One was at Wits University, studying the habitat selection and feeding behaviour of the sable antelope in Pilanesberg. The other was an MSc in Wildlife Biology at Colorado State University in America, financed by a USAID Equal Opportunity Study Grant.

“Armed with two MSc degrees, I earned myself the unfortunate title of being called the first black South African to become a wildlife ecologist in 1991,” laughs Magome.

That year, Magome became part of a team that converted 60,000-hectare cattle farms into the Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West province.

He went on to serve as acting chief executive of formerly Bop Parks before joining SANParks in 1996.

While acting CEO of Bop Parks, he arranged for the first five white rhinos to be translocated (by road) to Khama Rhino Sanctuary in Botswana.

Soon after joining SANParks, he helped move 30 white rhinos into the Okavango Delta, and they too have increased to over 2,000.

Through this and other efforts, Botswana became home to a significant white rhino population, says Magome.


Situated on the border with Botswana close to the Kalahari Desert, Madike Game Reserve has become the fifth-largest game park in South Africa, offering visitors a Big 5 safari experience over 750km². Magome directs Madikwe Futures Company (MFC), which raises funds to maintain the reserve from tourism and lodges. (Photo: Courtesy of Flowcom / Wikimedia Commons)

After SANParks, Magome spent a year in Cameroon, followed by two years in Malawi and Zambia, where he was inspired by what had been done to combat wildlife crime.

Malawi, once considered a capital for trafficking wildlife products, had effectively addressed wildlife crime within four years through partnerships between the state and various non-profit entities.

“Poachers and traffickers were snowed under by an avalanche of multi-sectoral teams. This included changing policies and laws through to working with the police at crime scenes to help secure prosecutions,” says Magome.

“Arrests were followed with poachers spending time in jail. No deterrent is stronger than doing time.”

In stark contrast, in the decade from 2013 to 2023, South Africa’s criminal justice system has let poachers and traffickers kill rhinos and traffic their horns with relative ease, says Magome.

The same applies to other environmental crimes, ranging from littering to serious water pollution affecting the entire South African landscape.

Private prosecution

Against this backdrop, Magome says he was encouraged by the ground-breaking private prosecution and conviction in 2019 of British Petroleum SA for building 17 fuel stations in Gauteng without proper environmental assessments and authorisations.

The case against BP was initiated by a small legal entity, Uzani Environmental Advocacy CC, set up by a lawyer, Gideon (Kallie) Erasmus. It was the first-ever successful private prosecution in South Africa of an oil giant for environmental offences using our environmental laws.

“Through Uzani, Gideon demonstrated that private prosecution can indeed complement the state in fighting environmental crimes. The battle is not lost, and the war can be won.”

Currently, the dehorning of rhinos is among the strategies adopted to curb rhino poaching in South Africa.

But dehorning is not foolproof – even dehorned rhinos fall victim to poachers, says Magome. Nor is fortress-style protection a viable long-term solution due to costs.

Reducing the demand for horns is key, says Magome. He is likely to elaborate on this at the forthcoming Oppenheimer Conference.

And he may well quote Richard Emslie, a rhino expert for the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission, who describes anti-poaching efforts as a focus on the front of rhinos (to save their horns) as opposed to a focus on the rear of the rhinos (where they push out calves).

“Focusing on their rear means moving them to areas where they can safely breed,” says Magome.

“And if we improve policing technology, work with law enforcement officers on collecting evidence on arrests, on sentencing, and on monitoring convicted rhino poachers (after their release from prison), we could significantly reduce poaching,” he says.

“What we need is focus, sheer will and determination to change bad situations.” DM

This story was produced with support from Jive Media Africa, science communication partner to Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation.

Rhino poaching on the wane since 2015

There has been a decrease in rhino poaching in Africa from 2015 through to the end of 2022. This is according to a report soon to be released by the African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG) of the International Union Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The AfRSG has also reported an increase in African rhinos from 22,137 at the end of 2021 to more than 23,000 at the end of 2022. These statistics are due to be released on World Rhino Day (September 2023).

Click here to view the latest available statistics.