Search results

Eighty-four vultures have been rescued by a joint team of SANParks rangers and Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) officials from a devastating poisoning in the Kruger National Park. The incident in the Mahlangeni Section of the Park was detected by the EWT's pioneering wildlife poisoning surveillance and detection system, which triggered an alert at 06:05 on 6 May 2025, flagging suspicious activity in a remote section of the park. Within hours, a joint SANParks and EWT team mobilised, arriving on site by 08:20.

Anecdotal evidence from Kruger National Park often suggests the south of the park offers better lion viewing than the north. Some of the best Kruger lion sightings occur in the Satara-Skukuza region. But is this merely a matter of terrain, lion density, road geography or luck? Or does it reflect lower lion numbers in Kruger's northern areas? A recent survey by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has provided fresh insight into Kruger National Park's northern lion population.

Some of the rhinos at Addo Elephant National Park are now collared with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to secure their safety. This is a first-of-its-kind intervention at the Park. Smart algorithms continuously monitor the rhino's behaviour and in the event of an incident, an alert is generated that pinpoints the rhino's location via GPS. This enables the effective, real-time investigation of possible poaching incidents. Behaviours that can be tracked include fighting, mating, giving birth and death.

In a landmark display of cross-border cooperation, |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park Field Rangers from South Africa joined forces with their Namibian counterparts to conduct regular joint river patrol along the Orange River. This milestone collaboration marks a significant achievement following a three-year interruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The joint patrol, integral to the management of the |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park (ARTP), aimed to address the rampant illegal gillnet activities that have been decimating fish populations in the area.

The South African National Parks (SANParks) Environment Crime Investigation (ECI) Unit received tip-offs from the public about potential poaching activities at Smitswinkel Bay, Cape Town. A prompt response by the ECI, its Canine Unit and the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) Marine Unit Rangers led to the apprehension of two suspected poachers who were found with a total of 291 units of abalone. The apprehended suspects were transported to the South African Police Services.

Rhino populations in Kruger National Park continue to decline despite innovative strategies implemented to prevent rhino poaching. The latest population count, reported in the SANParks Annual Report 2022/2023, reveals that the total rhino population has declined by 16.2%, from an estimated 2,458 rhinos in 2021 to 2,060 in 2022.

Despite back-breaking work from a dedicated and passionate SANParks team, Kruger National Park rhino populations have continued to plummet - as per the latest population count from 2020. Recently published research estimates that there are about 2,607 white rhinos remaining in the Kruger National Park, while black rhinos are estimated to number just 202. This represents a population decline of 75% for white rhinos since 2011 (from 10,621) and 51% for black rhino since 2013 (from 415).

Botswana's recent upsurge in rhino poaching is reaching a crisis point. More than 100 rhinos have been poached in under two years from a population of less than 400. Yet, the government remains resolute in its denial of a growing catastrophe. Former Botswanan president Ian Khama recently announced on social media that over 120 rhinos have been poached in the past 18 months.

South African National Parks (SANParks) announced the arrest of three staff members on 20 October 2020; in an extended Intel driven operation by SANParks, SAPS Crime Intelligence Unit, Sabi Sands and Skukuza SAPS Stock Theft Unit outside Kruger Gate. Two of the officials were employed as Security Guards and one was attached to Technical Services at one of the rest camps. The three were likely to appear in court on Thursday, 22 October 2020 and will thereafter be subjected to internal employee disciplinary procedures.

166 rhinos have been poached during the first half of 2020, compared to 316 at the same time last year. Of the rhinos killed this year, nearly three-quarters happened before the lockdown. In fact, in the month of April, no rhinos were killed in the Intensive Protection Zone in Kruger for the first time in almost ten years.

Most people understand that the poaching of rhinos is cruel and could, quite possibly, drive rhinos to extinction. But why the inordinate fuss about rhinos? Are they special enough from an ecological point of view, that ecosystems need them to be around? Of course, no species should go extinct due to man, and rhinos are iconic symbols and tourism draw-cards.

Guyanese finches are almost always smuggled in hair curlers from Guyana to New York, while pig-nosed turtles are trafficked in high amounts, declared as a marine species, and flown from a regional Indonesian airport to Jakarta before flying to China. The greatest variation in wildlife trafficking in air transport doesn’t necessarily occur between regions but between the species or wildlife products trafficked, the specific methods used with the routes taken by wildlife traffickers heavily dependent on wildlife type, says the Runway to Extinction report:…