The attack on two rhinos at the Kwantu Game Reserve outside Grahamstown two weeks ago brought the number of rhino poached in the country to a staggering 787 this year.
The attack on two rhinos at the Kwantu Game Reserve outside Grahamstown two weeks ago brought the number of rhino poached in the country to a staggering 787 this year.
This is according to the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA); 14 in the Eastern Cape, 12 of whom died. It is the highest number of rhino poached in the province. In 2011, 11 rhino were poached in the whole year.
The attack was carried out just two weeks before the Global March for Rhinos and Elephants in Grahamstown. According to Trisha Nathoo, a Rhodes University Law student who organised the local march, a report titled 'State of Elephants and Rhinos' reveals that up to 50 000 elephants are killed every year so their tusks can be carved into ivory trinkets.
A rhino is slaughtered worldwide every 9-11 hours for rhino horn, the report states.
The only hope for survival lies in an immediate end to the ivory and rhino horn trade (both legal and illegal) and a meaningful opportunity to recover from decades of mass slaughter. Nathoo told Grocott’s Mail on Saturday that they hoped to raise awareness through the marches that took place in 17 cities in South Africa and more than 136 cities worldwide.
“The response has been very good so far and the turnout is unbelievable. I didn’t know there were so many people who feel this strongly about the matter,” Nathoo said.
The march, which coincided with World Animal Day, brought people in cities throughout the world together to protest as one the slaughter of elephants and rhinos. More than 100 people turned out for the local edition of the march, which started at the Drostdy Arch at Rhodes University and ended at Grey Dam.
Grocott's Mail learnt that two rhinos were attacked at the Kwantu Game Reserve two weeks ago. The rhinos were found at midday 21 September by the game reserve’s anti-poaching unit while on a routine patrol. They were believed to have been zapped with a tranquilliser gun before their horns were removed. The rhino were recovering well, a Kwantu employee who asked not to be identified told Grocott's Mail.
