Rhino poachers cornered

IN a major breakthrough relating to the current spate of rhino poaching in the Zululand region, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) has apprehended four suspected poachers.
Assisted by the SAPS, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park field rangers carried out a highly successful operation on Wednesday.
The four suspects were caught red-handed with a .303 rifle and two freshly taken rhino horns in their vehicle.
Field rangers in the Makhamisa area of the iMfolozi section heard a single gunshot and alerted the iMfolozi management staff, who rapidly deployed rangers in accordance with an established strategy.
They also contacted the KwaMbonambi SAPS for backup and arranged to meet them at Ocilwane on the only road leading through the community area adjacent to that section, where a roadblock was set up.
A vehicle carrying four men approached and tried to avoid the roadblock, but was quickly intercepted.
An inspection revealed the rifle and freshly removed rhino horns.
The four suspects were taken into custody.
An aerial reconnaissance the next morning led to the discovery of the carcas of a White Rhino near the northern bank of the White Umfolozi River in the Zigubeni area, close to the confluence of the the two Umfolozi rivers.
EKZNW staff on the ground secured the area for a thorough investigation by the SAPS Organised Crime Unit of Richards Bay, as well as EKZNW investigators.
EKZNW Acting Director of Biodiversity Conservation, Sifiso Kheswa said, ‘This is a major breakthrough for us and we hope it leads to more arrests.
‘It saddens us all that another White Rhino has been killed, but if this leads to a whole spate of arrests, the sacrifice would not have been in vain,’ Kheswa said.
This incident brings the number of rhino killed in KZN to 19 this year - 15 in protected areas managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, and four on private properties.