The dehorning of rhinos in South Africa’s Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, has resulted in an 80% drop in poaching since the operation began in April this year, according to the organisations behind the programme.
The Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park is often referred to as the “birthplace of rhinos” as it was the last refuge for white rhinos after their numbers were decimated to around 100 a century ago. But in recent years, it’s been heavily targeted by poachers, who kill the animals for their horns, which are mostly sold to buyers in East Asia.
In response, the provincial conservation agency and the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) launched a dehorning operation several months ago. So far, more than 1,000 rhinos have had their horns removed.
To date, the scheme has spared the lives of an estimated 120 rhinos and enabled the rescue of eight orphaned calves whose mothers had been killed, the organisations say. The calves were found during an aerial survey in the early days of the programme when poaching levels were still high.
In 2023, 307 rhinos were killed in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park — more than 10% of the park’s population. However, in June, July and August 2024, just 16 rhinos were lost.
Jeff Cooke, manager of WWF South Africa’s rhino conservation programme, says the park has also installed more security cameras and “smart fences” and deployed more tracking and detection dogs, while many of the dehorned rhinos have been fitted with tracking devices.
“While we have seen a dramatic decline in poaching in this iconic park, we cannot let our guard down,” Cooke says. “We know that the criminal syndicates are always looking to capitalise on security lapses wherever they can find them.”
South Africa’s rhino population numbers have increased in recent years thanks to a broad range of anti-poaching interventions, including dehorning and the use of drones and other technologies.
At the end of 2023, the country had 16,056 rhinos (2,065 black and 13,991 white rhinos). That’s an increase of 1,032 from two years before.
Tags: Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park
