- 749 rhinos have been killed by poachers so far in 2015 in South Africa, up 5% compared to last year.
- 544 rhinos have been poached in Kruger National Park, South Africa’s most famous wildlife reserve. That represents a 19 percent increase over 2014.
- Last year’s death toll from poaching in South Africa amounted to 1,215 rhinos.
The pace of rhino killing in South Africa is running well ahead of last year’s record, report authorities.
On Sunday Environmental Affairs Minister Ednah Molewa said 749 rhinos have been killed by poachers so far in 2015, five percent more than this time last year.
544 rhinos have been poached in Kruger National Park, South Africa’s most famous wildlife reserve. That represents a 19 percent increase over 2014.
The results indicate that poaching outside Kruger has dropped by about 20 percent.
Molewa noted that despite the increase in killing, arrests have also risen inside the Kruger from 81 last year to 138 this year.
Home to roughly 80 percent of the world’s wild rhinos, South Africa has become the epicenter of the global rhino horn poaching crisis. Most of the horn ends up in Asia, especially China and Vietnam.
Last year’s death toll from poaching in South Africa amounted to 1,215 rhinos.