Routine rangers spotted three poachers who came across the elephant herd while trying to escape.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Breeding elephants trampled a suspected rhino poacher to death in South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park over the weekend, an official said on Monday.
Routine rangers discovered three poachers trying to escape came across the elephant herd.
The rangers later discovered a « badly trampled » man who had succumbed to his injuries, according to Isaac Phaahla, spokesman for the South African National Parks (SANParks).
Poachers who took part a global trade consortium, rhinos shoot and chop their horns off to meet an insatiable demand in Asia, where they are used in traditional medicine or as an aphrodisiac.
South Africa, home to approximately 80% of the world’s rhinoceros population, was a haven for poachers, with much of the killings centered on Kruger.
In 2020, the number of rhinos declined according to government statistics en over the previous year by a third to 394.
Nonetheless, Phaahla told AFP, the incursions have not decreased and can be up to 40 per day.
Ref: https://ewn.co.za
