The latest reports from national governments and agencies reveal (so far) that approximately 548 rhinos were poached in Africa last year. Overall, the total is a slight increase compared to 2021, when 539 rhinos were poached. This is a significant change from 2013 - 2017, when more than 1,000 rhinos were killed each year, yet it’s still dangerously high. On average, one rhino is still poached every 16 hours. Most of the rhinos poached last year were killed in Namibia and South Africa. In both countries, poachers have shifted their focus to new places. Tragically, poaching in Namibia almost doubled last year: 87 rhinos were killed in 2022 (up from 45 the year before). More than half of all these incidents took place in Etosha National Park, which is one of Namibia’s flagship parks and a tourism hotspot. Unfortunately, reports suggest that corruption within Etosha may have played a role. Following an attack that left 11 of Etosha's rhinos dead in June 2022, the Namibian Government stated that it was investigating some of its employees. Outside of Etosha's boundaries, poaching cases were spread across the country. Thankfully – and testament to the importance of communities in conservation - no rhinos were poached in community conservancies. Since the poaching crisis began in 2008, South Africa’s Kruger National Park has suffered huge losses. Between 2017 and 2021 alone, more than 1,700 rhinos were poached in Kruger. Despite this distressing total, poaching in the Park has been on a downward trend in recent years. In 2022, however, there was a big fall, with 41% fewer rhinos poached. Most likely, there were two contributing factors for this: the plunge in Kruger’s rhino population in recent years, and an integrated approach to increasing security and tackling poaching networks operating in the Park.