STOP RHINO POACHING NOW!

17/09 Conserv reports pregnant white rhino cow aborted calf and died after being shot 3 x in Barberspan. Both horns removed...09/05 Hawks swoop on Groenewald accused this morning with uncapped asset forfeiture order of R55 Million!... 29/04 SAPS officer and game ranger die in friendly fire incident in KNP. Our sincere condolences to families and colleagues... 27/04 Conserv reports 2yr old Black rhino cow found today in Pilanesberg, shot approx a week ago. Both horns removed...18/04 and and incredible afternoon with Jacaranda, The Parlotones (Neil Pauw's painting went for R200 000.00 - WOW Neil!) and MNet's The Wild. R573 000.00 in pledges for the "FICTION BECOMES REALITY" Project. To all involved and to all who pledged, THANK YOU!...08/04 News of full moon victims coming in. Conserv reports 07h20 rhino cow shot last night at 02h30 in Rankin's Pass, Limpopo. Horns hacked off, 1 month old calf orphaned. Report at 08h30, 1 white rhino bull shot, horns removed in Pilanesberg. Carcass 1 to 2 days old...05/04 Conserv reports 4 suspected Moz poachers arrested in a road block near Borakalalo NW.Rifle/axe/knife confiscated...23/03 An incredible fundraiser last night with Braam Malherbe, organised by Olienhout Republic. Thanks so much to all! 23/03 Cheque handover to SRP.com - R50 381.00 raised by Supervet! Our sincere appreciation!...17/03 Conserv reports 1 white rhino cow poached 2-3 days ago private land NW. Both horns removed, 2 bullet wounds...13/03 Mr S Els gets 8 yrs imprisonment + R1 million payback fine for dealing in rhino horn. Mr E Siganque gets 12 yrs for poaching + 1 yr for trespassing. Well done to all!!...09/03 3 suspected poachers caught in a Free State reserve on wed with dart gun and drugs to remain in jail until official bail hearing on 16th. WELL DONE NPA!!..07/03 1 Black rhino shot and killed approx 5 days ago in Pilanesberg. Horns not removed...06/03 Suspected rhino poacher shot dead and another 2 wounded in KNP...04/03 SAPS HAWKS bust big player in Hazyview over the weekend...02/03 3 Rhinos down at Kariega, E Cape. All 3 dehorned, 2 still alive and critical. Conserv reports 1 white rhino poached a week ago, found in the Vryburg area today, horns removed.Follow up sms 4pm, another poached rhino found in Vryburg..29/02 SANParks and SAPS yesterday arrested 4 KNP officials stationed in the Pretoriuskop section...24/02 SRP.com had to be moved to a bigger server but is up and running again (thanks to our web developers & sponsors, TheDevFactory.) The website has had HUGE traffic following the NBC broadcast on rhino poaching. Will get back to all of you in the USA ordering rhino bands with $ costs this weekend. THANKS NBC ROCK CENTRE!!...23/02 Conserv reports 1 white rhino shot and killed, both horns removed 2 days ago, found today. Another rhino wounded. Assen area... 18/02 Please read the Borakalalo story linked on the home page...16/02 Conserv reports white rhino found shot, front horn missing and still alive, Borakalalo. ( SRP will have more info tomorrow) ; 2 to 3 month-old carcass of a white rhino, horns removed, has been found in the Pilanesberg...15/2 NW successes so far this year: 20 arrests, 4 rifles, 4 vehicles and 3 horns. Well done!...14/02 Conserv reports 5 poachers arrested @ 01h25 NWest. 3 RSA, 1 Bots, 1 Zim citizens. total Beestekraal syndicate of 8 behind bars! Most grateful to SAPS and Crime Intelligence...13/02 Conserv reported news of another 2 rhinos poached, horns removed, Madikwe...11/02 Conserv reports 1 white rhino bull shot and wounded in Madikwe on Monday has died. Horns recovered...06/02 Conserv reports at 17h45 Rhino bull shot + - an hour ago, horns removed, Thabazimbi/Rooiberg area. Follow up in progress. Report from 10h16am: Black Rhino shot, horns removed at approx 5am this morning, Madikwe GR... 03/02 Conserv reports 3 poachers arrested, vehicle, firearm, axe confiscated in Beestekraal area. Was en route to carry out poaching. WELL DONE TO SAPS AND HAWKS!!... 03/02 Official stats from SANParks updated on our stats page...31/01 3 Mozambiquan poachers sentenced to a maximum of 25 yrs imprisonment each for poaching rhinos in KNP...30/01 Phat Phoung Hien found guilty for possession and transportation of horns in Pta North Magistrate Court. Sentenced to R100 000.00 fine or 4 years jail + a further 4 years jail suspended for 5 years. Accused will be deported...30/01 Conserv reports white rhino bull shot late last week, horns removed, north of Vaalwater...27/10 Conserv reports 3 members of a poaching sydicate arrested near Shoshanguve in an attempt to carry out poaching. Vehicle and firearms retrieved. Well done guys!...26/01 Public Parliamentary hearings on the rhino situation in Cape Town today...16/01 Conserv reports Zimbabwean arrested in possession of 3 fresh rhino horns (cow/calf) in Kameeldrift area. Also, 3 of 4 poachers arrested in Rooiberg area, pistol and rifle confiscated...15/01 Minister announces another 150 rangers for KNP this year...15/01 Conserv reports 1 white rhino shot twice, horns removed, 2 days ago Madikwe...11&12/01 News of 11 rhino poached in Kruger shocks us all...09/01/2012 Official stats for 2011 have been posted on our Stats Page...16/12 Conserv reports: 2nd rhino found today poached near Phalaborwa, 4 arrests made, fire arm and vehicle confiscated. 1st rhino was discovered wednesday... 15/12 Conserv reports 1 white rhino poached at Loskop Dam...14/12 Chinese National gets 6 years in jail for posession of rhino horn...13/12 Conserv reports 1 white rhino bull poached in Pilanesberg approx a week ago, horns removed...12/12 Conserv reports 2 white rhino carcasses, a week old, found in the Rooiberg area...11/12 There has been a huge upsurge in poaching incidents, particularly in the past week. Figures fall somewhere between 430 and 450, awaiting official numbers. In one of the latest incidents, a white rhino bull and cow were darted and de-horned in the Western Cape. Badly injured, they are still alive. There are so many monsters out there...06/12 Conserv reports 1 white rhino shot and wounded Borakalalo, NW... 05/12 Conserv follow up on Vaalwater incident: missing rhino cow found poached, horns removed. Calf being treated...04/12 Conserv reports rhino bull calf shot and wounded, mother still missing, Vaalwater area....01/12 Conserv reports 1 week old white rhino carcass, horns removed, found btw Schweizer Reneke and Christiana NW...25/11 Final Parade at Quemic for the 3rd group of APU members trained. A very proud day, well done to all!...24/11 Well known wildlife vet arrested, charges pending...15/11 Hong Kong Customs have confiscated 33 rhino horns (86kgs) shipped from Cape Town harbour...10/11 Conserv reports white rhino bull shot and wounded north of Vaalwater estimated Tuesday...later put down...09/11 Rhino bull poached at Loskop... 07/11 Rhino cow and calf darted and dehorned Shamwari, Eastern Cape. Calf has survived the attack...06/11 Two rhinos poached Mauricedale...04/11 Two Thai nationals suspected to be part of a rhino poaching syndicate arrested by SARS and the HAWKS at OR Tambo Airport. Well done guys!!...01/11 Conserv reports white rhino found poached, Madikwe Game Reserve...afternoon follow-up: shot through heart and lungs, horns removed, carcass 3/4 days old, found approx 800m from Botswana border...27/10 Rock for Rhinos raised R5 000 last night! To all who attended and supported, Kinky Robot and Cold War Candy Drop - THANK YOU!!! 25/10 Last Javan rhino in Vietnam poached in April, with only 40-60 remaining in Indonesia...24/10 Conserv reports: 2 white rhino poached yesterday, Sandveld, Free State...19/10 Conserv reports 1 white rhino in boma near Vaalwter shot 3 x with a bow. Still alive...10/10 Conserv reports 1 white rhino cow wounded, another shot/killed and horns removed. Carcass a week old, Kudoeskop area, Limpopo...30/09 Groenewald case in court today, and a whopping 1 872 charges were served against them. Excellent work to the investigations team and prosecutors!...28/09 23:40 Conserv confirms 1 rhino cow and calf shot, horns removed. Follow up in progress. Assen, North West...28/09 Conserv reports: follow up on poaching in Rooiberg. 1 cow wounded, round removed and in stable condition...27/09, 02h15am, Conserv reports 1 of 2 poachers shot and arrested in the Rooiberg area.Well done to all involved...23/09 THANK YOU JACARANDA 94.2 FOR AN INCREDIBLE WORLD RHINO DAY, AND TO ALL OF YOU WHO SUPPORTED! R23 600 CAME IN YESTERDAY!!...22/09 Tune into Jacaranda 94.2 for World Rhino Day!...This friday, the Veterinary Genetics lab is having a fundraising braai @12:00 to raise funds for their rhino DNA project. Entrance is R20, which gets you a beer/soft drink and boerrie roll. RSVP by 15h00 today by smsing 0765486402...19/09 Thank you Mark Taylor and supporters for your donation of R5 260...15/09 Donations via the website topped R400 000.00 today. THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR RHINOS!...14/09 Conserv reports 1 rhino cow poached early this morning outside Brits, her small calf badly injured...13/09 Conserv reports 1 rhino poached in the Rust De Winter area within the last 3 days...09/09 Final Parade graduation at Quemic for Jacaranda's 2nd group of provincial armed field ranger candidates. 2 poachers killed in Kruger Park shoot-out. Rhino poached in Sabi Sand...01/09 Alleged syndicate leader Chumlong Lemtongthai has been refused bail and will appear again in court on September 15...28/08 Conserv reports 2 poachers arrested during attempted poaching near Vaalwater. Rifle, silencer and vehicle confiscated. Well done to Quemic, stock theft units and SAPS...28/08 Polokwane, 1 poacher shot dead, 2 more arrested of which was shot and wounded..25/08 Aquila's rhino ABSA, who's front horn was removed by poachers this past Saturday, died during the night...24/08 Rhino cow and young calf poached in the Waterberg region...23/08 Latest released figures on our statistics page, uploaded today...22/08 Conserv reports: 1 rhino found wounded (shot) in the Rooiberg Area. Red day period starts 24th August...21/08 Update, Aquila Game Reserve, Western Cape. 1 rhino darted & dehorned, treated by vets and OK so far. 2nd darted rhino untouched. The 3rd rhino, missing yesterday, was found dead and de-horned...19/08 News of 2 rhino poached in the Eastern Cape...16/08 Conserv reports rhino poached near Assen, N West, 09h15 this morning. Follow up in progress...15/08 4 suspected rhino poachers arrested in Welgevonden Pvt Game Reserve (Limpopo province) this evening in joint intelligence driven ops between Quemic and SAPS. Weapons with silencers, extra ammo, an axe and the getaway vehicle retrieved. EXCELLENT WORK!!!...13/08 AAWDC LCCSA 4 X 4 Family Fun Day in aid of our Eastern Cape Rhino Project a huge success. Thank you Salo and all involved!...13/08 Conserv reports: Congrats to the SAPS and Private APU's during hot pursuit in Vaalwater area, arrested 3 suspected poachers last night...10/08 Conserv reports 2 white rhino (a bull and cow) found poached, horns brutally removed, Rooiberg area Limpopo...08/08 Conserv reports 1 white rhino found poached, horns removed, Borakalalo. Caracass a month old...06/08 Conserv reports: 2 white rhino cows poached, horns removed, Vaalwater area...05/08 Conserv reports 2 black rhino carcasses found in Pilanesberg, horns removed. Killed approx 6 months ago...04/08 Conserv reports 2 Vietnamese Nationals in custody, convicted to 8 and 12 yrs for possession of 7 and 8 rhino horns. Well done to the Hawks...01/08 Conserv reports: Naboomspruit, 2 cows poached, horns removed. Missing calf of one poached cow found...29/07 Conserv reports CODE RED ALERT at 2 am, rhino poached 30 mins ago in Warmbaths. Follow up action in progres...28/07 Conserv reports 1 black rhino cow poached Pilanesberg, caracass approx 1 month old...21/07 Conserv reports: Vaalwater - White rhino bull poached last night both horns removed. Other news - 2 people intent on poaching arrested in Pretoria yesterday in possession of a dart gun and M99. Well done to the HAWKS!...11/07 Thai kingpin arrested by HAWKS, SARS on saturday...10/07 Conserv reports: rhino bull shot and wounded in the Rooiberg area. Rhino owners be on high alert...07/07 3 month old dehorned carcasses of a rhino cow and her calf, which starved to death, found Marloth Park... 21/06 News from Conserv: Rhino cow poached near Hoedspruit, carcass found yesterday. 3 month old calf now orphaned, and a 2nd calf from another cow injured in the same incident...17/06 1 White rhino poached near Cullinan...13/06 Conserv reports 2 cows, 1 calf shot in the Rooikraal area, Limpopo. Cows horns were removed...12/06 1 White Rhino found dead in snare, Limpopo. Horns recovered...04/06 Rhino poachers hit Swaziland for the first time in 20 years. White rhino cow poached last night, both horns removed...01/06 SAPS message to the anon report resent today. Thank you for excellent info, its being followed up...28/05 7 poachers arrested and 2 dead in SAPS trap in Malalane. Well done!...Black rhino bull poached in Pilanesberg, carcass 2 weeks old, horns removed...26/05 Conserv reports pregnant white rhino cow poached 6 to 8 days ago near Cullinan, both horns removed...23/05 Conserv reports 2 Congolese & 1 Taiwanese arrested this weekend in posession of rhino horn. Well done to the investigating team...17/05 We have also donated R30 000.00's worth of equipment to the Jacaranda Provincial Parks project, purchasing spotting scopes, binoculars and head lamps...16/05 20yr old rhino bull killed in the Pilanesberg, horns removed. Carcass 2 weeks old...09/05 Goodluck to the Righs For Rhinos team walking from Musina to Cape Town, starting today!...04/05 2 week old carcass found of a rhino cow poached 30km from Potch, North West...01/05 Rhino cow and small calf poached Naboomspruit...24/04 SANParks says 1 poacher killed, 3 arrested, 3 carcasses found KNP...19/04 more arrests and 2 poachers shot dead in Kruger. Well done SANParks and the SANDF!...The donation of R100 000.00 received by StopRhinoPoaching.com has been earmarked towards intelligence-gathering, investigations and informant fees. Investigators will work closely with and support fully the SAPS / NWCRU initiative... 11/04 Groenewald update: the full list of charges will be set on September 30, trial begins 23 April 2012...04/04 4 white rhino down in the Phalaborwa area, 1 caught and died in a snare, 2 poached...16/03 White rhino poached in the Thabazimbi area...08/03 Suspected rhino poacher shot in the Kruger National Park...04/03 3 rhino carcasses with horns removed discovered yesterday in the Dwesa Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape, 1 white rhino bull poached in Limpopo...26/02 News out of Limpopo Province: 6 rhino killed (1 of which was a black rhino) and separately to that some excellent arrests...12/02 Eastern Cape, Kariega - poachers dart and de-horn white rhino alive. Severely injured, it had to be euthanased...08/02 Four poachers shot dead in SA Parks...05/02 White Rhino Cow poached yesterday, front horn removed, Botsalano, NW Province... 31/01 SANParks announces 31 arrests for January. Well done!! New Rhino DNA Sample Kit unveiled...27/01 Poachers claim their first rhino in the Western Cape...16/01 News of rhino killed in Umfolozi...12/01 News of 5 poachers shot dead in Kruger....10/01 Pregnant rhino cow poached near Hoedspruit...05/01 - White Rhino cow killed in the Eastern Cape, both horns taken....28/12 9 year-old rhino cow killed in Mafikeng yesterday, horns removed... 17/12 Vusi, the little orphaned calf in our story Turning In Circles, died at the Rhino and Lion Park last night. To all who did their best to pull him through, our thoughts are with you... 06/12 White rhino cow and older calf killed this past weekend at Botsalano Game Reserve, North West. Her young calf was rescued this morning...22/11 Two Vietnamese nationals arrested in Beaufort West this morning with 15 rhino horns. Well done to the investigators!...19/11 Limpopo officials confirm 17 rhino carcasses found at Letaba Ranch...13/11 An outstanding effort by all involved in the successful arrest after the poaching incident in Naboomspruit. Thank you Conserv for mobilizing and managing support!...THE FLETCHER GANG, 22 RHINO KILLED, LAST MINUTE WITNESS INTIMIDATION FORCES THE STATE TO ASK FOR A POSTPONEMENT. JUDGE'S RULING TO STRIKE THE CASE FROM THE ROLL ALLOWS AUTHORITIES TO THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATE INTIMIDATION AND BRIBERY OF WITNESSES AND ARRANGE FOR WITNESS PROTECTION....PLEA BARAGIN STATE WITNESS NICOLAAS VAN DEVENTER GOES BACK ON HIS WORD AND AT THE LAST MINUTE LETS THE STATE KNOW THAT HE REFUSES TO TESTIFY...click on our Jacaranda 94.2 Feelgood link for pictures...Our key rhino investigators receiving tip-offs via this site would like to thank everyone who has submitted a suspicious report...20/09 - HAWKS BUST GROENEWALD GANG IN JOINT OPERATION WITH SANPARKS, NATURE CONSERVATION, SARS AND THE CAA. TO ALL INVOLVED, THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION, PERSERVERANCE AND EXCELLENT WORK!...10/09 JACARANDA 94.2 TELETHON RAISES OVER 1 MILLION RAND FOR RHINO PROTECTION AND R550 000.00 WORTH OF DONATED EQUIPMENT!...To the thousands of people and corporates that pledged their support, to everyone at Jacaranda, to all the celebs that manned phones, and to Martin Bester and Barney Simon, THANK YOU...Toyota hands over 2 Hilux Double Cab's to Pilanesberg to help fight poaching till December. THANK YOU Toyota!..

have a zero tolerance approach to poaching

SIGN NOW

your financial support is needed to make a difference

DONATE NOW

any low level aircraft or suspicious activity

LEARN MORE

Still alive after a week!

The trees around us were full of flies.

Apart from the vicious attack to his face and a gunshot wound to the head, the rhino also suffered two other injuries. In some incidents, poachers chop the upward facing eye - thought to be an act of superstition - and the spine of the rhino.

The gunshot wound.

This eye was blinded by the chop.

The single, deep chop to his spine with a lot of run-off down his sides.

A LIVING CARCASS

An account of the recent poaching incident at Borakalalo.

by Elise Daffue, Founder of StopRhinoPoaching.com, written 17 Feb 2012.

For those of you that haven't been there, I don’t think I can adequately describe what a rhino crime scene feels or smells like. Nor do I have words for the thousands of bloated flies that hold vigil in the trees all round you, lazy, almost tame, waiting for their gap to feed on yet another victim of man's greed. This morning’s trip to Borakalalo, just outside Brits in the North West Province has left me shattered – a numbing cocktail of absolute horror and total disbelief at the extent to which a human being can become so inhumane and savage.

We could smell him long before we saw him, the bush so dense that even the chopper had battled to find him. Nothing I have ever experienced could have prepared me for what lay immobilized before us - for he could only be described as the still living carcass of a poached rhino.

Breathing through a writhing mass of maggots and blood, his exposed sinus passages wheezed and struggled. They had cut him deep, wide and quickly, after a single shot to the head which hit his spine and knocked him out – but didn’t kill him. That was last weekend, and today being Friday meant a week of agony beyond any comprehension.

Wildlife vet Dr Louis Greeff, his assistant Willem, helicopter pilot Pieter Breugem Jnr and the anti-poaching team tried to pull the weak and dehydrated bull to his feet. They tried numerous times, in different directions, letting him rest between each attempt just in case by some sheer miracle it would make a difference. He couldn't stand up. During one of these breaks Louis flushed the gunshot wound, guiding the plastic tube through which the disinfectant is administered all the way along a trajectory that ran deep into the rhinos head.

Louis then tackled the facial wounds, spraying the maggot fest with I can’t remember what, causing a mass exodus from the sinuses that resulted in a rapid die-off. Waves and waves still kept coming.

We had been thinking that maybe, just maybe, if the bull got up and could be walked down to the awaiting trailer, by some miracle he’d have the slightest hope of surviving.

The team did their best, but it was not to be. Louis soon discovered that the rhino’s top lip was paralysed, all the nerves to this area sliced out with his horns. The maggots were also to blame for their share of the damage, having eaten out all the soft flesh and leaving but bare shards of bone. Tucked under his loose top lip we found rolls of fresh grass which he’d been unable to get into his mouth to chew. So for all these excruciating attempts to eat, he'd been slowly starving away.

After talking to Eric and Rusty from North West Parks, what happened next was quick and final. Louis took a R1 rifle, aimed it dead centre at the rhino’s forehead and pulled the trigger.

The shock wave shook the bull's body only once. The emotional shock of experiencing his precise moment of death shook me entirely and instant tears flowed uncontrollably. Our small group had witnessed what could rate as one of the worst rhino poaching incidents to date.

I said goodbye to a rhino I had never known. I scratched behind his still warm ear on that soft spot that tame rhinos so enjoy. I stroked his face, rubbed his back and promised that no matter what we'll all keep on fighting.

Butterflies had been delicately fluttering around us, an ironic beauty to be found at most poaching scenes, attracted by the body salts of our now dead rhino. The vast swarm of patient flies took flight, dung beetles flew in, and as we walked away mother nature stepped in to claim him.

We are up against an army of savages who have sold their souls to the devil himself.

Background:

Borakalalo’s anti-poaching unit is active 24/7 and comprises of specialized rangers for whom I have the deepest respect. StopRhinoPoaching.com will continue to support these dedicated, fine men with everything we can.

The long grass and thick bush cover gave the rhino ample hiding place in the reserve. He could quite easily have died days from now without ever having been seen.

To the best of my knowledge, there have been 9 cases of rhinos reviving after having had their horns hacked out. There could well have been more. Of these, I think only 3 have survived.

Messages:

To Louis and team, and especially Louis who had to face that final moment, my heartfelt thanks. Let's pray that we never see anything on this scale of cruelty and brutality again.

To every person out there actively involved in this war, please keep fighting!

To the South African Government: until you catch a proper wake up our rhino will continue to fall. How difficult is it, really, to allocate additional law enforcement resources and put effective rhino protection strategies in place?? We are 5 YEARS into the poaching epidemic and it only gets WORSE!! The guys on the ground are working tirelessly, but be they rangers or investigators they are NOT being given the resources they need from the structures higher up. Mr President, respectfully, a species is being exterminated on your watch.