Two rhinos have been killed and de-horned on a safari farm in the Eastern Cape.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu says it’s alleged that the two adult rhinos – a male and a female, were last spotted during the afternoon game drive on February 1st, and then discovered dead a few hours later on that same drive.
Field rangers were alerted to the incident by the sound of a gunshot very close to where they were patrolling. When they went to investigate, they spotted the convict and his two accomplices.
The rangers ordered the suspects to stop, but instead they turned their firearms on the rangers. A shootout ensued and one of the suspects sustained a gunshot wound to his leg and was apprehended. A backpack with a firearm, an axe, a bush knife, and a fresh pair of rhino horns were found.
The other two fled the scene.
The following day when search operations resumed, rangers found one of the suspected poacher’s bodies within tall grass. Next to his body was a hunting rifle fitted with a silencer. The third suspect is still at large.
