Specialised teams to combat rhino poaching in the Eastern Cape arrived too late for a pregnant mother and young male butchered near Graaff-Reinet on Tuesday.
An autopsy by renowned wildlife vet Will Fowlds at Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve soon after they were found added more heartache when it was discovered the mother was just two weeks from giving birth.
Although Fowlds delivered the unborn baby, it was already dead.
Iain Buchanan – whose family own the game reserve – yesterday held back tears while he explained what it was like finding out the female rhino was heavily pregnant. “His skin was so soft, just like a human child, he had perfect features.”
The attack was the third incident in less than a year at the reserve despite increased patrols by ex-military staff.
“The guys involved were devastated, it is their job to protect the rhino.”
The brutal attack comes hours after Fowlds and groups working to save local rhino from the crosshairs of poachers named a baby recently born to a pregnant mother who survived her horn being hacked off at Kariega Game Reserve three years ago.
Since the beginning of the year seven rhino have been butchered by well-trained poaching syndicates in the Eastern Cape and an eighth escaped despite being shot.
Last year a record 15 rhino were killed in the province and the fear is that 2015 could be worse.
Hawks national spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi yesterday told the Daily Dispatch poachers were being “displaced” from hotspots like the Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga and Limpopo to quieter places like the Eastern Cape.
He said although recently formed, specialised teams were working hard to nab the syndicates, but the poachers were so well drilled they did not leave much evidence when they left.
“They have stepped up their operations here and we have formed specialist teams to go to these areas that have experience.
“We are very concerned.”
Mulaudzi said members of the specialised anti-rhino poaching team were hard hit after the latest incident.
“We are hurt – the one rhino had a baby. The team tried to resuscitate it, but it died. We want to crack this.”
Ex-Hawks East London organised crime colonel Rodney Visser yesterday said the latest incident had demoralised conservationists. “We are extremely angry – we are more than just frustrated and shocked … it seems like we’re not making inroads.”
He confirmed displaced crime syndicates were now focusing on “softer targets” like the Eastern Cape.
Unlike other areas, local poaching syndicates were less reliant on communities living near reserves for help.
“These people come here, do a job and leave. It is a close-knit society, they do not boast, they keep a low-profile, are secretive and act professionally.”
A R150000 reward on the Mount Cambedoo incident has drawn little response, he added. — davidm@dispatch.co.za
Pregnant rhino, calf butchered
An autopsy by renowned wildlife vet Will Fowlds at Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve soon after they were found added more heartache when it was discovered the mother was just two weeks from giving birth.
Although Fowlds delivered the unborn baby, it was already dead.
Iain Buchanan – whose family own the game reserve – yesterday held back tears while he explained what it was like finding out the female rhino was heavily pregnant. “His skin was so soft, just like a human child, he had perfect features.”
The attack was the third incident in less than a year at the reserve despite increased patrols by ex-military staff.
“The guys involved were devastated, it is their job to protect the rhino.”
The brutal attack comes hours after Fowlds and groups working to save local rhino from the crosshairs of poachers named a baby recently born to a pregnant mother who survived her horn being hacked off at Kariega Game Reserve three years ago.
Since the beginning of the year seven rhino have been butchered by well-trained poaching syndicates in the Eastern Cape and an eighth escaped despite being shot.
Last year a record 15 rhino were killed in the province and the fear is that 2015 could be worse.
Hawks national spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi yesterday told the Daily Dispatch poachers were being “displaced” from hotspots like the Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga and Limpopo to quieter places like the Eastern Cape.
He said although recently formed, specialised teams were working hard to nab the syndicates, but the poachers were so well drilled they did not leave much evidence when they left.
“They have stepped up their operations here and we have formed specialist teams to go to these areas that have experience.
“We are very concerned.”
Mulaudzi said members of the specialised anti-rhino poaching team were hard hit after the latest incident.
“We are hurt – the one rhino had a baby. The team tried to resuscitate it, but it died. We want to crack this.”
Ex-Hawks East London organised crime colonel Rodney Visser yesterday said the latest incident had demoralised conservationists. “We are extremely angry – we are more than just frustrated and shocked … it seems like we’re not making inroads.”
He confirmed displaced crime syndicates were now focusing on “softer targets” like the Eastern Cape.
Unlike other areas, local poaching syndicates were less reliant on communities living near reserves for help.
“These people come here, do a job and leave. It is a close-knit society, they do not boast, they keep a low-profile, are secretive and act professionally.”
A R150000 reward on the Mount Cambedoo incident has drawn little response, he added. — davidm@dispatch.co.za
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