Johannesburg -
The death of two adult white rhinos in a dehorning and poaching incident at the popular Rietvlei Nature Reserve on Thursday has left the City of Tshwane with no option but to temporarily close the facility.
Blessing Manale, mayoral spokesman in the metro, said on Friday the nature reserve would be closed until further notice in the aftermath of the tragedy.
“The City of Tshwane is very saddened by this incident. We condemn in the strongest terms the killing and dehorning of the rhinos, which took place in the south-western side of the nature reserve,” Manale said.
“Despite this unfortunate incident, we echo that we will not give up on our ongoing battle against rhino poaching in South Africa. We will ensure we contribute to fighting the battle against poaching.”
Manale said the incident had dealt an immeasurable blow to the city’s conservation efforts amid a global outcry of the increasing rate of rhino poaching in protected areas and parks in Tshwane and South Africa as a whole.
He said police were investigating the matter.
However, Manale said that in the wake of the incident, management of the nature reserve had implemented additional security measures with immediate effect, including closing the reserve.
Details surrounding the incident were still unclear last night as police had not yet concluded the probe.
Hawks spokesman Major Robert Netshiunda confirmed the rhinos had been totally dehorned.
“We are still investigating. We are trying to find out who could have done this (and how). We are following up on all prospective leads. But right now there had not been any arrests,” Netshiunda said.
The Department of Environmental Affairs also condemned the killing and dehorning of the rhinos, spokesman Albi Modise said.
“We urge all South Africans to continue working with our law enforcement agencies in ensuring that all these individuals involved in the ongoing attacks on the rhino population face the full might of the law.” Modise urged all communities in Pretoria and beyond to be vigilant and report suspicious activity in their area that could be related to the dehorning and killing of the two animals. “No matter how small or insignificant you may think the information is, do not keep it to yourself as it could be the vital piece required to solve this puzzle,” Modise said.
Rhino poaching in the country has been an escalating problem in recent years, creating fears that both the black and white rhino species could become extinct.
However, the rhinos at Rietvlei were seen to be relatively safe.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the number of rhinos poached in the country had increased by 9 000% since 2007.
The organisation said white rhinos had previously been brought back from the brink of extinction, but were now at risk due to a surge in poaching to meet demand for illegal rhino horn, primarily in Asia.
According to the WWF, poaching gangs used increasingly sophisticated methods, including drones, helicopters and night vision equipment to track rhinos and veterinary drugs to knock them out.
In October 2013, five heavily-armed suspected rhino poachers were arrested just as they were about to enter the Rietvlei Nature Reserve. Three years prior to that, two rhinos were killed by poachers.
Subsequent to the incident, the nature reserve dehorned the 13 rhinos in the facility.
The process was done again in 2013, with plans to dehorn every three years, as rhino horns grew between 4cm and 7cm a year.
By this year the rhinos' horns had grown back.
Save the Rhino said the number of rhinos poached in the country last year stood at 1 175, down from 1 215 in 2014.
Pretoria News Weekend