We’re losing the war
RHINO: ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTER’S NUMBERS SIMPLY DON’T ADD UP
Although the environmental affairs minister doesn’t acknowledge the crisis, South Africa’s rhinos are being poached at an alarming rate, with more being killed in the Kruger National Park than there are calves born.
They are poached at a faster rate than calves are born in Kruger Park.
Despite the millions being spent and lives lost, South Africa is in grave danger of losing the fight to save the rhino. In Kruger National Park (KNP), home to the country’s biggest population of the animals, rhinos are being poached at a faster rate than calves are being born ... and overall numbers are going down.
Environmental Minister Nomvula Mokonyane recently released the 2018 rhino poaching statistics, but the numbers are not adding up and South Africa’s state-owned rhino population may be worse off than Mokonyane would have us believe.
Undisputedly up to its metaphorical ears in rhino carcasses and at the sharp edge of the war on poaching, a recent study put the number of black and white rhinos combined in KNP at an estimated 5 649.
The number falls far short of the 2020 target of 538 to 676 south-central and 169 south-western black rhinos, and 9 854 to 10 232 southern white rhinos.
According to a source in conservation who requested privacy in order to protect them against certain backlash, two surveys were undertaken in 2018 after rangers said surveyed rhino numbers did not correspond to what they had observed on the ground.
Attempts to obtain current population numbers from South African National Parks (SANParks) and department of environmental affairs (DEA) spokesperson Albi Modise of the KNP have proved fruitless.
Mokonyane said in her statement there were 2 620 incursions into the park with 125 contacts, but only 769 rhinos had been poached, making it the third consecutive decrease recorded “particularly in the national parks”.
Outraged South African Citizens Against Rhino Poaching (Oscap) “would be thrilled with the latest poaching stats if we believed the figures were accurate and if we believed the level of transparency we expect from the DEA was evident”, said Oscap director Kim Da Ribeira.
“We note that the census figures for KNP for 2018 have not been included in the release, and our understanding is that the population of white rhinos in KNP is currently below 3 000.”
Da Ribeira noted 178 firearms were confiscated for 2018 in KNP and surrounding areas.
“If firearms recovered reflect to a degree the number of contacts with poachers, then why over the last quarter of the year was a similar decline in poaching numbers not recorded? We question the accuracy of this figure as incursions were reported to have increased from those recorded in 2017,” Da Ribeira said. However, despite the poachers’ inability to capitalise on their efforts, Mokonyane announced “initiatives to dehorn rhinos embedded in strategic approaches that target individuals that frequent poaching hotspots but, more importantly, approaches that minimise the losses of cows”.
In August, wildlife conservation organisation Wildlife ACT noted on its website dehorning was “a last resort” and a “shortterm solution, and the sad reality is that it only deflects the risk onto populations that have not been dehorned yet”.
The species-specific drought impacts on black and white rhinoceroses study published in January has worrying population estimates.
Due to the drought, and despite the effectiveness of antipoaching, the study put the white rhino population estimate in September 2017 at 5 142, “significantly” lower than the 7 235 previously estimated for 2016.
On the plus side, the black rhino population estimate in September 2017 was 507, significantly higher than the 310 estimated in 2014.
Then there’s the issue of collateral damage.
“Note that Kruger management recorded 127 natural mortalities of southern white rhinoceroses between the 2015 and 2016 surveys compared to the 83 noted between the 2014 and 2015 surveys,” stated the 2017 Realisation of poaching effects on rhinoceroses in the KNP study.
“South-central black rhinoceroses, a browser and thus less sensitive to drought impacts, had 11 natural mortalities between the 2015 to 2016 surveys compared to 14 between 2014 and 2016.”
There is also almost no detail on foetuses found in poached female rhinos, rhino orphans, or how many rhino survived attempts or, were put down as a result of their injuries. –
We question the accuracy of the figure.