South Africa warns at least two rhinos killed by poachers each night in Kruger National Park
18 May 2015, 18:25 AEST
By Africa correspondent Martin Cuddihy
Africa correspondent Martin Cuddihy goes on the trail of rhino poachers in Kruger National Park as conservationists call for drastic new measures to tackle the illegal trade in rhino horn.
The vultures tell us where to go a long time before we arrive.
They are circling overhead and provide a grim indication of just where the latest rhinoceros carcass is lying.
At the moment, on average, at least two rhinos are being killed by poachers in Kruger National Park every evening.
The South African government says 209 have been killed this year to the end of April.
It is a staggering loss and 2015 is on track to be the deadliest year yet.
The poachers are also ruthless. The forensics team examining the carcass explain what happened to the animal.
It was shot and wounded and then the poachers severed the rhino's spinal column to immobilise it.
They then hacked off the horns with a machete.
The animal was probably still alive when they finished.
"It still touches you. The mere frequency of that and the amount of animals killed. It's really sad. It is a waste," said Frik Rossouw, who has been South Africa's National Parks wildlife investigator for 28 years.
Official figures put the number of rhinos in Kruger between 8,000 and 11,000.
But Doctor Kobus du Toit, a wildlife biologist, vet and rhino expert, disputes that.
"You cannot have more than 1,500 to 3,000 animals still left in the park. Impossible. And I would challenge any ecologist to verify [the figures]," he said.
Rhino horn is highly sought after in traditional Asian medicine.
It is ground into a powder and sold as an aphrodisiac, when in fact it is keratin, the same substance as your fingernails and toenails.
In the mid-1990s Dr du Toit proved that rhino horn could grow back, by cutting off the horns of one animal and letting them regrow.
He has just published a book, which argues strongly in favour of legalising the trade in rhino horn.
"The world must get a wake-up call. And something drastic must be done against the poachers," he said.
Not surprisingly he has support from one of the republic's biggest rhino ranchers.
John Hume has a property outside Klerksdorp, in the north-west province.
From there he breeds and sells rhinos to other ranchers and conservation parks.
He regularly de horns his animals in the hope it will deter the poachers - but it does not.
When we arrive at his property, Mr Hume is on the phone to a security company inquiring about the hourly rate of a helicopter to patrol his property.
A few nights earlier, five animals were killed, including one 14-month-old calf.
"It's difficult to describe one's emotions because they are multiple. Disgust, sorrow," he said.
"I know all these animals. An awful, awful ecological waste.
"No matter what people tell you, we are losing the war. What I'm doing here is not sustainable. We are losing the war because we don't have money to fight the war."
Mr Hume said his property was losing money because of the security costs involved in keeping his herd safe.
"It's the only animal that is worth more dead than alive," he said.
"Until that changes the poaching will just keep happening."
Until 2008, South Africans could legally trade rhino horn with their fellow citizens.
No doubt some of it was smuggled out of the country, but poaching was rare.
In recent years, the growing affluence of Asia has coincided with the moratorium on the trade creating the perfect conditions for criminal syndicates to thrive.
Reports vary as to how much it is worth, but at the very least, the end user pays in the tens of thousands of dollars per kilogram.
South Africa's conservation minister Edna Malawa is calling for submissions from the public on how to best address the issue of poaching and the sustainability of a legal trade in rhino horn.
"Some are saying that legalisation could actually save our rhino," she said.
"Some are saying, no, over our dead bodies."
A team of resource economists, lawyers, and wildlife experts will examine the arguments and are due to report back towards the middle of next year.
