Since the beginning of 2022, more than 100 rhinos have been poached in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province. This staggering toll compares to 102 rhinos poached in the Province during the whole of 2021, and 93 in the whole of 2020. Unless this trend is urgently reversed, 2022 could end with a new KZN poaching record, going beyond the horrific 222 rhino poaching deaths recorded in 2017. The recent increase in poaching in KZN is likely due to several factors. First, there has been a devastating decline in the number of rhinos in the Kruger National Park. According to South Africa National Parks (SANParks), the number of rhinos in Kruger has declined by 59% since 2013. KwaZulu-Natal is approximately 500 km south of Kruger National Park and includes several small- to medium-sized sanctuaries and game reserves. Given its relatively close proximity, criminals have shifted their attention from Kruger to the smaller reserves across KZN, where the density of rhinos is higher. Second, Covid-19 has doubtless been a factor. Whilst the number of rhinos poached across South Africa has been declining since 2014, 2020 saw a marked decrease, with the lowest poaching total since 2010. Most likely, this was due to the tough movement restrictions put in place across the country due to the pandemic. This not only meant that it was difficult to access reserves and travel domestically around South Africa, but it was also extremely rare to undertake any international travel, and thus trafficking rhino horns across national borders became much harder. Unfortunately, as restrictions were reduced and travel once again increased, we have seen an increase in poaching across South Africa, as criminal syndicates look to ‘make up’ for the time they had lost.