Johannesburg - Poachers have hacked off the horn of a pregnant rhino after they immobilised her by severing her spine.
The rhino was found on Monday afternoon at the Askari Lodge in the Magaliesberg area.
She was expected to give birth in the next couple of months.
The general manager of the lodge, Graham Shipway, said the animal had been a shot with a large-calibre rifle and had been missing since morning.
“From the marks on the ground, we can see she had struggled; she wasn’t dead when they hacked the horn off,” he said.
The poachers had hacked into her spine, presumably with an axe, to break her back and paralyse her.
Her daughter, who is two-and-a-half years old, was with her at the time of the shooting, but rangers on the property believe she ran off.
This is the first time that a rhino has been poached at the lodge. - The Star