Helicopter poachers have struck again in KwaZulu-Natal, slashing the horns off a heavily drugged white rhino with a chainsaw and then leaving the animal to die.
But miraculously, the rhino survived, despite horrific injuries to its skull and nasal cavity.
It appears that the poachers may also have captured the cow's month-old calf and taken it away in a helicopter.
A wildlife investigator said the wounds to the cow were comparable to slashing the nose off a person.
The poachers appeared to have removed both horns with a single swipe of a chainsaw. Instead of cutting away the horns at the base, the blade had cut deeply into the animal's skull.
"It was horrific. I've never seen an animal with this kind of injury still alive," he said.
Johan Geldenhuys of the Tugela Private Game Reserve confirmed that the severely wounded cow was discovered late last week on the reserve halfway between Ladysmith and Colenso. "The vet estimated that the wounds were about five to seven days old, and felt that as the animal had survived and was still walking, there was a good chance of it pulling through. She has been treated with antibiotics to control infections - and as far as we know, this is the first time that a rhino has survived an attack like this."
There has been a dramatic surge in rhino poaching in South Africa over the past two years, including several cases of so-called "M99 chopper attacks" where the poachers have gained access to the scheduled veterinary drug M99, which is used to immobilise large animals during capture and transportation.
To reduce the chances of getting caught on the ground and to muffle the sound of gunshots, the poachers use wildlife dart guns to immobilise the animals from the air.
Most of these attacks have happened in the North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Free State, with only one previous case in KwaZulu-Natal about three months ago.
"We have not been able to find any visible evidence on the ground of how the poachers got into the reserve and, based on the available evidence, we have concluded that it was a helicopter job," said Geldenhys.
At least 117 rhinos have been poached in the first six months of the year and this toll is expected to exceed the 122 rhinos killed last year.
A suspected gang of rhino poachers with close connections to the South African wildlife hunting industry are due to stand trial in Pretoria in October, and investigators believe that another gang based in Limpopo may also have close connections to the wildlife hunting and conservation industry.
Meanwhile, field rangers shot and injured a suspected rhino poacher in Kruger National Park last Monday, SANParks said.