This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:
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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Last year ended with one of the highest rhino poaching figures recorded in almost a decade. A total of 77 rhinos were poached in 2022 compared to 2021 when 45 rhinos were killed for their horns. Last year's figure is the third highest recorded since 2013, only surpassed by the 97 rhinos poached in 2015 and 84 killed by poachers in 2018.
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NAM_2023_01_77 rhinos and 4 elephants poached in 2022_Namibian Sun.pdf | 350.46 KB |
Verlede jaar het geëindig met een van die hoogste renosterstroperysyfers in byna 'n dekade. Altesaam 77 renosters is verlede jaar gestroop - 32 meer as in 2021. Volgens die jongste statistieke wat deur die ministerie van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme bekend gemaak is, is verlede jaar se syfers die derde hoogste sedert 2013. Die twee hoogste syfers is in 2015 en 2018 aangeteken met onderskeidelik 97 en 84 renosters wat in daardie jare gestroop is.
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NAM_2023_01_77 renosters en 4 olifante in 2022 gestroop_Republikein.pdf | 349.9 KB |
NAM_2023_01_77 rhinos and 4 elephants poached in 2022_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 365.02 KB |
According to media reports, five Germans, two Americans, one Australian and four South Africans came under gunfire attack on a double-decker tour boat on Wednesday, in a broader drama involving the recent slaughter of about 25 elephants from a wandering herd. The tourists were attacked shortly after 10.30am on the eastern shores of the Jozini/Pongolapoort Dam on the southern border between SA and eSwatini.
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SA_2023_01_Jozini Dam_ANC and DA condemn gunfire attack as poaching conflict rises_The Citizen.pdf | 331.66 KB |
A Gqeberha man was arrested for suspected abalone poaching in the early hours of January 11, after vigilant Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Metro (NMBM) Police officers spotted a suspicious vehicle, a red Toyota Condor, which was leaking water from the rear end. The man was found travelling with eight bags of de-shelled abalone at around 3.45am in the Summerstrand and Humewood area.
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SA_2023_01_Gqeberha man arrested for possession of 1 620 units of protected abalone_IOL.pdf | 338.94 KB |
t's a grim and all too common sight for rangers at some of Africa’s nature reserves: the bullet-riddled carcass of an elephant, its tusks removed by poachers. African elephant populations have fallen by about 30% since 2006. Poaching has driven the decline. Some reserves, like Garamba in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Selous in Tanzania, have lost hundreds of elephants to poachers over the last decade. But others, like Etosha National Park in Namibia, have been targeted far less.
The Pongola Lake in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, has erupted into an elephant poaching 'slaughterhouse', says the DA, as it calls again for national intervention. "Armed groups of poachers have now completely laid siege to the eastern shores of the lake, with several elephant carcasses recently found while dozens of gunshots have also been reported in the region. “Guards near the eSwatini border have allegedly also come under attack and infrastructure damaged and torched by the armed gang."
Another two poached rhino carcasses have been discovered in the Etosha National Park, following an intensified two-week operation to reduce the escalating poaching problem in Namibia. Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi yesterday confirmed they are hot on the heels of the suspects and arrests are expected soon. The latest incidents bring the numbers of poached rhinos for the year to 20. This is double the number of rhino poaching incidents recorded between 2005 and the end of last year, when Namibia had lost fewer than 10 animals.
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NAM_2014-11_Two more Rhinos poached in Etosha_Namibian Sun.pdf | 109.07 KB |
At least two more black rhinos have been killed by poachers in the Etosha National Park this month, bringing the total number of confirmed rhino poaching cases in Namibia's premier wildlife park to three.
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NAM_2014-11_Poachers kill two rhinos in Etosha_The Namibian.pdf | 248.79 KB |
How did ‘Boxer’ die? Why are dead rhinos being found in the area his team patrolled? John Grobler digs up strange secrets surrounding the deaths of black rhinos in the Kunene region of Namibia.
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Oxpeckers_Strange death of a rhino protector.pdf | 381.08 KB |
There was confusion yesterday about a reported rhino poaching in the Kunene Region, which could not be confirmed by the authorities. News of the incident spread like wildfire on social media - first it was reported that four rhinos were killed, then six, and then apparently none. Some said that the carcasses were found at Palmwag Lodge yesterday morning. Neither the police nor the Ministry of Environment of Tourism was able to confirm that.
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NAM_2014-11_Confusion over poaching incident_Namibian Sun.pdf | 48.13 KB |
Three carcasses of black rhino were discovered in the Kunene region this week, two weeks after another carcass of a black rhino bull was found in Etosha.
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NAM_2014-11_Three rhino carcasses found in Kunene_The Namibian.pdf | 233.75 KB |
Three more rhino carcasses have been found in the Kunene Region while the Ministry of Environment and Tourism continues with its rhino dehorning programme. The total number of rhino carcasses that have been found in Namibia this year stands at 18.
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NAM_2014-11_Poachers kill 3 rhinos in Kunene_Namibian Sun.pdf | 47.88 KB |