UPDATE: Hluhluwe rhino death toll rises to 8
8 rhino were poached in 3 separate attacks in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Park.
The rhino death toll from the weekend’s massacre in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) has risen to eight plus one survivor.
The three separate incidents occurred in three different areas of the Hluhluwe section of the park.
‘In one incident, two rhinos were shot and de-horned on the Corridor Road while in another, five rhinos were darted on the road to Hilltop Camp. It is one of these that survived,’ said Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Spokesperson Musa Mntambo.
The third incident occurred in the far north-west of the park, in which two rhinos were shot.
The authorities are confident the surviving rhino will make a full recovery and was yesterday taken to the park’s secure bomas.
According to Mntambo, no weapons have been recovered from any of the crime scenes but the KwaJobe Community Forum apprehended one suspected poacher yesterday.
At this stage it is unknown whether or not the suspect is linked to the weekend’s poaching incidents.
