Tipping point
2023 poaching stats ring alarm bells
AT a loss of almost one rhino a day in KZN this year, the war on poaching appears to be a losing one.
Visitors to the region and province who hit the game reserves this festive season will see almost 300 fewer rhinos.
Official numbers released last week show a gruesome tally of 295 rhinos poached in KZN alone in 2023.
A jump of 51 on last year’s figures, the vast majority of these killings occurred in Staterun game reserves.
Figures obtained from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife show that, of the 295 rhinos poached this year, just 11 were on private reserves and community conservation areas (CCA).
In 2022, a total of 244 rhinos were poached in the province, of which 13 were on private and CCA game reserves.
This year’s poaching stats are 20.9% up on last year’s and a staggering 189.2% increase on 2021’s numbers.
While this is major cause for concern, the 2021 figures are skewed as Covid restrictions limiting even the movement of criminals were in place until July of that year.
With numbers on the arrest and sentencing of rhino poachers sketchy at best, the future for these animals does not bode well.
It is obvious that something must be done and fast - to bring poaching under control.
Several private game reserves have de-horned their rhinos, which is a costly undertaking and does not necessarily guarantee the animals’ safety.
According to Ezemvelo spokesperson Musa Mntambo, around five de-horned rhinos were poached on an inland KZN game reserve a few years ago.
Recent studies also show that cutting off a rhino’s horn can negatively affect its social behaviour, especially with regard to black rhinos.
He also said, apart from the cost, de-horning rhinos is not sustainable as it must be done again after some time.
Various NPOs work with game reserves throughout the province in the fight against poaching.
One such NPO is Dogs4Wildlife, which provides highly-trained dogs and specialised ranger training for the development of anti-poaching K9 units to protect wildlife.
They have so far supported KZN’s Bonamanzi Game Reserve and Project Rhino, as well as a whole host of protected areas in other parts of South Africa and abroad.