KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of poaching incidents, with 325 rhino killed, followed by Kruger National Park (which falls in Mpumalanga and Limpopo) where 78 rhino were killed. Limpopo was next, with 59 rhinos killed on game reserves and farms. File photo
Spokesperson Albi Modise said in a statement on Tuesday that the Kruger National Park bore the brunt of poaching.
Modise said three alleged poachers were arrested in the Tshokwane section of the park last week after a black rhino was killed. One of the men died in a local hospital after he was wounded in a shoot-out with park rangers.
The rhino horns, as well as a .458 hunting rifle with a silencer, ammunition, and poaching equipment were confiscated from the men.
Last Tuesday an alleged poacher was shot dead by rangers near the Langtoon dam in the park during a shoot-out. Two guns, ammunition, and poaching equipment were recovered.
The park's figures for the year had increased from 180 to 201 poached rhino over the past week. A total of 41 alleged poachers had been arrested in the Kruger since January.
Since the beginning of the year, the North West had a total of 21 rhino poached, while 19 were poached in KwaZulu-Natal, 19 in Limpopo, and 13 in Mpumalanga. – Sapa