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Private game reserves are buckling under the costs of keeping rhinos safe from poachers. This as the trend shows poachers have set their sights on private reserves. More than 250 rhinos were poached in the first half of the year.

Rhino conservation groups say a collaborative, cross-border approach is needed to stop poaching. South Africa lost 259 rhinos to poaching in the first half of the year. Private game reserves are increasingly targeted by poachers, forcing them to increase security measures.

At the peak of the rhino poaching war in South Africa in 2015 and 2016, poachers slaughtered nearly three rhinos a day. Although that rate has declined, the numbers are still disheartening and unsustainable, with poachers killing at least one rhino every day. Some conservationists have looked to drones as a potentially powerful tool in anti-poaching efforts, with the technology continuing to evolve. But experts say it isn’t at the level yet where it can meet the challenge, and that while it can be helpful, conservation efforts must continue to engage and educate local…

Two teachers and five other people from Muanza district in Sofala province, including a smallholder and a public administration technician, were arrested this weekend while trying to sell two elephant tusks and the skin of a leopard for 44,000 meticais (24,000 for the tusks and 20,000 for leopard skin).

Rhino crimes accounted for most arrests during the past year, with 145 suspects having been detained. A significant number of these were pre-emptive arrests, where suspects were caught before they could kill a rhino. This is not only a highly commendable law enforcement success, but also a very positive conservation outcome. Pre-emptive arrests have directly saved numerous rhinos and will allow the population to continue to multiply. The number of rhinos known to have been poached in Namibia during 2020 has decreased from the previous year.