Rhino poaching declines in South Africa's largest park
| JOHANNESBURG
Protection efforts in South Africa's biggest wildlife park have reduced聽rhino聽poaching there, though聽poaching聽syndicates may be moving operations to parks elsewhere in the country, a top official said Sunday.
The carcasses of 458聽poached聽rhinos聽were found in Kruger National Park between January and the end of August, down about 18 percent from the same period last year, said Edna Molewa, South Africa's environmental affairs minister.
The African News Agency quoted Molewa as saying that聽poaching聽groups may be responding to pressure in Kruger park by killing more聽rhinos聽in other areas, although聽rhino聽poaching聽nationwide is still down from last year. Areas where聽rhino聽poaching聽has increased include the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and the Northern Cape.
Poachers killed 36 elephants this year in Kruger park, a worrying development in an area that had been mostly unaffected by the Africa-wide slaughter of elephants. A study released last month reported a big decline in the number of Africa's savannah elephants in the past decade as international and domestic ivory trades drove聽poachingacross the continent.
"It is also of concern that we have also begun experiencing an increase in elephant聽poaching, despite the vigorous and determined efforts by our rangers, the police, and soldiers on the ground," Molewa said.
A total of 414 alleged poachers have been arrested in South Africa so far this year, nearly half of them in Kruger park, according to the South African government. The park, which is almost the size of Israel, is infiltrated daily by teams of poachers, many of whom come from neighboring Mozambique.
Record numbers of聽rhinos聽have been killed in South Africa in recent years to meet demand for their horns in parts of Asia, particularly Vietnam. Consumers believe聽rhino聽horn, which is ground into powder, has medicinal benefits, but there is no scientific evidence to support the belief.
South Africa had implemented a moratorium on sale of rhino horn in 2009 with the hope of curbing poaching but the ban appeared to have had the opposite effect, with the number of poached rhinos rising steadily each year since the ban was imposed. The country's Supreme Court of Appeal officially lifted the ban in May.
