Rhino Poaching 2016

[Alf]

Last time we were there all horns were removed

So how quickly do they grow back

[Richprins]

They take the stumps, Alf!

[Errol1]

This is really terrible news, I visited those Rhino a few months ago....

[Mel]

Sounds as if there is something terrible off at Rietvlei.

[Richprins]

Article in Beeld today, saying the rhino were professionally shot, once each. Grootkoei and Kilo were their names, the baby of the former being killed by the same shot. Stumps removed.

[Toko]

Reserve closed as rhinos killed, dehorned
NEWS/SOUTH-AFRICA/GAUTENG /
28 May 2016 at 14:19pm
By: NOMASWAZI NKOSI
Johannesburg -

The death of two adult white rhinos in a dehorning and poaching incident at the popular Rietvlei Nature Reserve on Thursday has left the City of Tshwane with no option but to temporarily close the facility.

Blessing Manale, mayoral spokesman in the metro, said on Friday the nature reserve would be closed until further notice in the aftermath of the tragedy.

“The City of Tshwane is very saddened by this incident. We condemn in the strongest terms the killing and dehorning of the rhinos, which took place in the south-western side of the nature reserve,” Manale said.

“Despite this unfortunate incident, we echo that we will not give up on our ongoing battle against rhino poaching in South Africa. We will ensure we contribute to fighting the battle against poaching.”

Manale said the incident had dealt an immeasurable blow to the city’s conservation efforts amid a global outcry of the increasing rate of rhino poaching in protected areas and parks in Tshwane and South Africa as a whole.

He said police were investigating the matter.

However, Manale said that in the wake of the incident, management of the nature reserve had implemented additional security measures with immediate effect, including closing the reserve.

Details surrounding the incident were still unclear last night as police had not yet concluded the probe.

Hawks spokesman Major Robert Netshiunda confirmed the rhinos had been totally dehorned.

“We are still investigating. We are trying to find out who could have done this (and how). We are following up on all prospective leads. But right now there had not been any arrests,” Netshiunda said.

The Department of Environmental Affairs also condemned the killing and dehorning of the rhinos, spokesman Albi Modise said.

“We urge all South Africans to continue working with our law enforcement agencies in ensuring that all these individuals involved in the ongoing attacks on the rhino population face the full might of the law.” Modise urged all communities in Pretoria and beyond to be vigilant and report suspicious activity in their area that could be related to the dehorning and killing of the two animals. “No matter how small or insignificant you may think the information is, do not keep it to yourself as it could be the vital piece required to solve this puzzle,” Modise said.

Rhino poaching in the country has been an escalating problem in recent years, creating fears that both the black and white rhino species could become extinct.

However, the rhinos at Rietvlei were seen to be relatively safe.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the number of rhinos poached in the country had increased by 9 000% since 2007.

The organisation said white rhinos had previously been brought back from the brink of extinction, but were now at risk due to a surge in poaching to meet demand for illegal rhino horn, primarily in Asia.

According to the WWF, poaching gangs used increasingly sophisticated methods, including drones, helicopters and night vision equipment to track rhinos and veterinary drugs to knock them out.

In October 2013, five heavily-armed suspected rhino poachers were arrested just as they were about to enter the Rietvlei Nature Reserve. Three years prior to that, two rhinos were killed by poachers.

Subsequent to the incident, the nature reserve dehorned the 13 rhinos in the facility.

The process was done again in 2013, with plans to dehorn every three years, as rhino horns grew between 4cm and 7cm a year.

By this year the rhinos' horns had grown back.

Save the Rhino said the number of rhinos poached in the country last year stood at 1 175, down from 1 215 in 2014.

nomaswazi.nkosi@inl.co.za

Pretoria News Weekend


http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/ ... ed-2027516

[Toko]

http://rekordcenturion.co.za/86319/vide ... inos-safe/

VIDEO: Are the Rietvlei rhinos safe?
Rietvlei residents make urgent plans to protect vulnerable rhinos after poaching. WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES.
2 hours ago


Concerned Rietvlei residents held an urgent meeting on Saturday to discuss the future of the rhinos in the Rietvlei reserve after two of the animals were poached this week.

It later emerged that one of the rhinos was pregnant and that the poachers hit the unborn calf when they shot the mother on Thursday.

The reserve has been closed indefinitely until an investigation by the Hawks has been completed.

During the meeting on Saturday morning, it emerged that the reserve security was seriously understaffed.

The number of security staff and rhinos left at Rietvlei were not disclosed for security reasons.

Meyer Pheiffer, head of the Lyttelton sector 6 community policing forum, chaired the meeting.

He said the state of affairs at Rietvlei were worrying.

“Just last Wednesday night at 23:30 I drove past one of the gates of the reserve and it was standing wide open,” he said.

“This is unacceptable. That is how poachers get in and things like this killing happen.”

According to Pheiffer, the Tshwane metro had been warned about the lack of security at the reserve prior to the recent poaching.

He said representatives from the Tshwane metro were invited to attend the meeting, but no one showed up.

“We have arranged with the new management of the reserve to hold a follow-up meeting with them and officials from the metro to discuss options on the way forward.”

During the meeting, it was suggested that the reserve be taken out of the municipality’s hands and be entrusted to a private institution or SANParks to manage.

This idea was still to be discussed with the metro and SANParks.

Pheiffer lauded the work already being done by the honorary rangers of Rietvlei, the Lyttelton police and volunteers to patrol the reserve.

More meetings to discuss ways to protect the rhinos are scheduled for the coming week.

[Lisbeth]

I don't know if the the access and exit procedures have been changed, but I was there, you parked the car and one of the occupants went to a "window" and bought the entrance tickets (no control whatsoever. At departure you just drove out

[Flutterby]

There has always been someone at the gate who gives you a disc which you hand in when you leave. But I doubt poachers would use the gate.

[Lisbeth]

Must have been introduced, after I was there........I think

I have only been there once, and saw nobody else and it did not seem very watched over