South Africa Rhino Poaching: 8 Animals Lost In One Day

JOHANNESBURG -- South African rangers say they have found eight dead rhinos that had been stripped of their horns, an unprecedented one-day toll.

Reynold Thakhuli, South African National Parks spokesman, said rangers found the rhinoceros carcasses Tuesday at two sites in Kruger, the country's flagship national park.

Thakhuli said Wednesday, "This is the first time that we've had so many in one day, and it's really a concern for us."

Thakhuli says 448 rhinos were poached across South Africa in 2011, a record loss. The eight found Tuesday were the first recorded deaths for 2012.

An Asian economic boom in recent years is believed to be behind the spike in poaching, with a growing middle class in countries like China and Vietnam able to afford exotic purported remedies like powdered rhino horn.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[oldebuzzard]

10:29 PM on 04/21/2012

How about we mix a little cyanide into rhino horn and reduce the number of users? Or maybe we could send them a shipload of Viagra.

Wonder why chewing fingernails doesn't have the same effect as rhino horn :)

[Wynand]

02:14 AM on 01/13/2012

Show your allegiance. Let's make this global please! Thank you! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Show-your-allegiance-anti-Rhino-Poaching/241117659265880

[scassidine72]

09:00 PM on 01/12/2012

I wonder what those losers gonna do when there are no more rhinos...Poach the poachers!

[Vera Gottlieb]

04:37 AM on 01/12/2012

What is humanity coming to? Perhaps December 2012 will take care of all this.

[OneFish]

04:55 PM on 01/12/2012

No - it's just an artificial date, a number with no more meaning than any other number.

[snewell]

09:11 PM on 01/11/2012

this could stop in a minute if the U.S. placed a trade embargo contingency on china. i remember back in the ninetiies Clinton had a opportunity to get Taiwan to stop with the illegal animal trade-but he didn't- all it takes is political will. NO TRADE UNLESS NO ANIMAL TRADE. people are truly heinous.

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

11:21 PM on 01/12/2012

You are extremely naive and gullible. As long as old men with droopy dicks will pay top dollar for the illusion of potency the killing will continue.

[gingercurls]

08:12 PM on 01/11/2012

Time to start shooting the poachers! No mercy.

[JimWind]

10:41 PM on 01/11/2012

Place a few So African Army snipers in the field as part of their training will "take care of the poaching problem"

[scassidine72]

09:01 PM on 01/12/2012

"Time to start shooting the poachers! No mercy" It's been time. Talk about a feel good story.

[HGS111]

07:34 PM on 01/11/2012

Park officials in the past tried removing the horns from adult rhinos but in every case a rhino with it's horn removed lost it's calf to predators. The horn is as much for display as it is a weapon. Rhinos literally can't see 50 feet but predators can and they do respect that horn.

[CNemoGlobal]

07:11 PM on 01/11/2012

China is a growing stakeholder in Africa, loaning $billions and building infrastructure in exchange for hard commodities such as uranium, iron ore, etc. Their growing presence and political influence in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, etc. are perceived as a threat of colonisation. Adding insult to injury is the illegal wildlife trade - poaching of rhinos and elephants - financed by Asian buyers. As members of the UN and WTO, China and Vietnam must take immediate action against those criminal organisations. This form of corruption is unsustainable.

[bobnky]

07:10 PM on 01/11/2012

I'm normally anti-capital punishment - but these poachers need to be made aware that if they are caught at this there will be no questions asked...

I see that others here share my sentiment.

[Carrieberryca]

07:56 PM on 01/11/2012

If I witnessed something that heinous, I'd pull the trigger myself.

[bobnky]

10:01 PM on 01/11/2012

There are only so many of these creatures left in the wild - elephants also, among others. It's hard to resist the urge to think that that is anything other than the best solution.

[PDXTransplant]

06:58 PM on 01/11/2012

Why don't the park officials cut the horns off and keep them filed down so this won't happen? Since it's made of keratin—that’s the stuff your hair and nails are made of. I know this has been done in that past. What a waste of a wonderful animal for the ignorance of humans believing their horns have super medicinal powers. I am so sick of reading about animals lives wasted either for their skins, their hides, their tusks, or just because some a hole wants to kill for the fun of it. Some day I hope they all get revenge.

[skylark]

07:27 PM on 01/11/2012

Fanned and faved, and agree with the "upside down" observation.

[Acert]

09:27 PM on 01/12/2012

That's counterproductive because it deprives the animal of its defense against predators and poachers tend to kill them anyways so they don't have to worry about repeatedly tracking the same hornless animal. They know this because they already tried it and it didn't work. The real question is why the people who pay for these medicines (they're almost always for virility) can't afford viagra, since they obviously have the funds to buy expensive black-market goods.

[Donkey Party]

06:51 PM on 01/11/2012

Aww damn, I was hoping they meant RINOs...

[no exit]

06:33 PM on 01/11/2012

Bomb em. Not the rhinoceros.

[Kathy Levittown]

06:26 PM on 01/11/2012

Every time I read about these poachings it makes me so sick..

Beautiful animals gradually going extinct because some rich b--ches need carved rhino..and the poachers want to get rich..

The human race seriously sucks sometimes...its so depressing..

[westcoastsc]

05:37 PM on 01/11/2012

Another exception I have for the death penalty. It is the only way to protect these animals. They deserve to live on. It is by no fault of their own that they have these coveted horns.

[Kathy Levittown]

06:27 PM on 01/11/2012

Excellent..Fanned westcoastsc....;-)

[skylark]

07:28 PM on 01/11/2012

Totally agree. And there should be a penalty for killing lions, tigers, whales and dolphin, as well.

[TheFugue]

05:14 PM on 01/11/2012

I can't help but feel that this isn't being treated with the severity that it should. These animals should be kept in close watch to make sure no poachers enter their space. Are the fences around this protected area not high enough? Is security so weak? They should put up very tall electric fences. These animals should be protected, though I have a feeling they will soon kick the bucket.

[kizz]

06:25 PM on 01/11/2012

Ever been to Kruger? It's the size of Connecticut. Even with the existing fences it's not that easy to patrol. Sometimes animals get out and poachers get in. If only people would realize there's no "magic" in the rhino horn!

[TheFugue]

11:00 PM on 01/11/2012

Yes, seriously that would be the best things miracle, even that could happen

[Kathy Levittown]

06:28 PM on 01/11/2012

Hi TheFugue....Im sure many of the park rangers are in on kickbacks..too much slaughtering goes on behind their backs...It doesnt sound right...

[TheFugue]

11:01 PM on 01/11/2012

Exactly. I think this is ridiculous. Okay so the space might be huge. Good for the animals. But it should be kept a closer eye on

[Acert]

09:29 PM on 01/12/2012

The policy for poachers is shoot on site. The problem is poverty makes it easy for the mob to hire people, who are desperate, and many of these countries don't have the resources to carry out extensive undercover operations or recruit informants (which requires witness protection) like we do in the USA.