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Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

Public access to information is a vital component of ensuring community engagement in prevalent issues. Wildlife crime is one of the pressing environmental issues of our time.

Wildlife crime investigations are generally covert operations requiring utmost confidentiality to succeed. Investigations and prosecutions in complex cases may take months or even years to complete. For this reason, the information that can be released to the public without compromising cases is often limited. Nonetheless, the Namibian government strives to share as much information as possible with the public.

The Namibian media has welcomed this approach and regularly publishes statistics and feature articles on wildlife crime. These are entered into the database at regular intervals, creating a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia.

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Displaying results 1 - 9 of 9
Tuesday, 11 April 2023
Maclennan S 2023. Convicted rhino poacher arrested at private game reserve.

Police have confirmed the arrest of one of the five convicted rhino poachers who escaped from prison in Makhanda in October last year. "We can confirm the arrest and that he was involved in attempted poaching at one of the private game reserves," South African Police Service spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli told talk of the Town. Seven men escaped from Grahamstown Correctional Facility in October 2022. One of them, convicted poacher Trymore Chauke was arrested at Seven Fountains around 7pm on Sunday 23 October.

Friday, 7 April 2023
Maclennan S 2023. Bitter twist to new double Sibuya rhino killings.

'An incredible story of courage and survival that has now been obliterated' is how wildlife veterinarian Dr William Fowlds has described the killing this week of two orphaned survivors of a 2016 rhino poaching incident at Sibuya Game Reserve. In a bitter blow to the rhino conservation community, two rhinos who mothers were killed by poachers seven years ago were themselves killed by poachers on Tuesday April 4.

Friday, 4 November 2022
Maclennan S 2022. Poachers' sentencing to be postponed.

The sentencing of six rhino poachers convicted in the Makhanda High Court just over a month ago will be postponed until four of them who escaped from prison are traced. Francis Chitiyo, Trymore Chauke, Simba Masinge , Nhamo Muyambo, and Abraham Moyane and Misheck Chauke were convicted for conspiracy to poach rhinos in the Makhanda High Court on 30 September 2022. They were due to be sentenced on Friday 4 November. Five of them escaped from the Waainek correctional facility in Makhanda in the early hours of 18 October, together with two other prisoners.

Monday, 6 December 2021
Kindzeka ME 2021. Cameroon deploys military to assist rangers as poaching increases.

Cameroon has deployed its military forces to help rangers crack down on poachers on its eastern border with the Central African Republic. Cameroon wildlife officials say poaching is again increasing after pandemic restrictions saw a drop in the number of animals being killed. Officials say in the last week alone, poachers have killed at least eight elephants along the border. Cameroon's Forestry and Wildlife ministry says several dozen armed poachers are attacking elephants along the CAR border.

Sunday, 15 August 2021
Tairo A 2021. African rangers fight poaching under plight of COVID-19 pandemic.

A survey conducted by conservation encouragement charity, Tusk and Natural State, found that African rangers see no sign of relief. Poaching is actually escalating as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact Africa’s communities and wildlife. The survey questioned 60 field organizations across 19 countries in Africa.

Thursday, 22 July 2021
Kindzeka ME 2021. Cameroon police intercept pangolin scales trafficked from 3 central African states.

Cameroonian police say they have for the first time during the pandemic seized parts of an estimated 2,000 pangolins poached in Cameroon and neighboring Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Police say travel restrictions had slowed trafficking of the endangered anteater to Asia, where its meat is considered a delicacy and the scales are used in traditional medicine. At least 12 bags of Pangolin scales and leopard skin are in a police warehouse at Nlonkak, a neighborhood in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde.

Thursday, 29 April 2021
Save The Rhino Trust Namibia (SRT) 2021. Mounting efforts to save rhinos in Namibia.

There are fewer than 5,630 black rhinos left in the wild, but the last remaining free-ranging population live in the Kunene and Erongo regions of North West Namibia. These special desert-adapted rhinos are protected by our partner Save the Rhino Trust (SRT). The past year has been especially difficult for SRT's team. They have not only had to cope with the ever-present threat of poaching and drought but also had to deal with the additional pressures brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Friday, 13 March 2020
Maclennan S 2020. Poaching trial to resume in May.

The trial of six men facing rhino-poaching charges continued in the Grahamstown High Court this week. East London residents Francis Chitiyo, Trymore Chauke, Misheck Chauke, Simba Masinge and Nhamo Muyambo, and  Abraham Moyane were arrested in July 2018 during Operation Full Moon – the Eastern Cape Rhino Task Team’s code name for its anti-poaching operations. All six have since been in custody. They are accused on four counts.

Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Save The Rhino Trust Namibia (SRT) 2019. Behati Prinsloo joins forces with Save the Rhino Trust Namibia.

To raise awareness for rhino conservation, Namibian-born international model Behati Prinsloo has joined forces with Save The Rhino Trust Namibia (SRT). As part of her alliance with the organisation, she is launching a global campaign and is visiting Namibia this month, entrenching herself in the movement to protect the critically endangered black rhino species and preserve the population.

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