Two rhinos shot at Queenstown reserve
TWO more rhinos have been killed on a game reserve on the outskirts of Queenstown over the past two weeks, bringing the death toll in the Eastern Cape to 12 since January – the highest annual number of deaths ever in the province.
The two white rhinos, both breeding bulls, were shot dead with high-powered hunting rifles on the Wildschutsberg Game Reserve in the Stormberg Mountains near Queenstown.
The first one was killed 10 days ago, but the poachers failed to remove the horns. The second was killed on Sunday, its horns hacked off with a panga or saw.
Now Eastern Cape rhino owners, worried that poachers are being squeezed out of other provinces by tighter security and are looking for easier targets, have raised concerns about security measures in the province.
Organised crime unit detectives, forensic experts and environmental authorities were still at the game reserve yesterday afternoon, searching for clues.
The rhinos were shot with a .458-calibre hunting rifle, usually used to hunt dangerous game.
This is in contrast to previous poaching incidents in the province when the rhinos were darted with a lethal dose of a veterinary drug.
In 2010, four rhinos were poached in the Eastern Cape, the following year 11 were killed and, in 2012, the number dropped to seven. Five were killed last year.
Wildschutsberg Reserve manager Bruce Niland said everyone at the reserve was devastated by the rhinos’ deaths. “This is totally ridiculous and infuriating,” he said. “The first one happened about 10 days ago. A child walking to school saw the rhino lying near the gravel road. He alerted my staff and we went to investigate,” he said. “
“You could tell the rhino had been killed shortly before and the horns had not been removed. I suspect we disturbed the poachers and they ran off.”
Niland said the second carcass was found on Sunday by a hunter who was on the farm.
“Due to the state of rigor mortis we think this rhino was killed around Thursday,” he said. “The carcass was discovered about 2km from where the first rhino was poached and we found tracks leading to the fence line where a vehicle must have been waiting.
“It is possible that this is linked to inside information so we have launched an internal investigation.
“One thing is for sure, we have never had a poaching incident before and now all of a sudden we have two within two weeks.”
In 2011, the Wildschutsberg Reserve dehorned their rhinos after a tip-off about an imminent attack by poachers. “Now ... we are clearly going to have to look at doing this again,” Niland said.
Eastern Cape Private Rhino Owners’ Association representative Angus Sholto-Douglas said poaching in the province was a huge concern and owners were under pressure to safeguard their animals.
“These [poachers] are organised crime syndicates. They have networks and pay for information about which are the best areas to hit,” he said. “It is absolutely shocking that 12 rhinos have been killed in our province this year alone.
“I think one of the main reasons for this is that so much pressure is being applied in other provinces, forcing poachers to look for easier targets.”
Sholto-Douglas said poachers
were being squeezed out of Limpopo and the Free State and were now casting their sights elsewhere.
“We need to make sure that all anti-poaching units are running and that all law enforcement agencies are on board to curb further killings in the Eastern Cape,” he said.
Shamwari wildlife crime specialist and Indalo Conservation anti-poaching intelligence head Rodney Visser said all member reserves and farms had been placed on high alert.
“This poaching is a clear sign of crime displacement,” he said. “The fact that they used a firearm is worrying and adds credit to the theory that this is a new group that has moved into the province.”
National Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko said detectives were still at the scene gathering evidence.
The killings come just four months after six rhinos were killed in two separate attacks at the Pumba Private Game Reserve near Grahamstown.
In April a breeding bull, a cow and a two-year-old bull calf were killed at Pumba, but only the two adults were de- horned. This followed an earlier incident when three other rhinos were killed.
In both cases, the carcasses were found about 400m from the fence that borders the Alicedale road. They had all been darted with a lethal dose of a veterinary tranquilliser.
Other poaching incidents have occurred on farms in Cradock, Queenstown and GraaffReinet.
Last week, Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa and National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega said various initiatives to curb poaching were under way.