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South African dehorning initiative aims for ‘zero poached’ white rhinos
Conservationists recently dehorned the entire white rhino population of Spioenkop Nature Reserve in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province to decrease poaching incidents.
Rhino poaching in South Africa has been steadily declining over the past several years, with dehorning efforts likely playing a part in protecting local populations.
However, experts say there are still grave concerns for this near-threatened species, especially as wildlife reserves struggle to maintain security during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team works quickly. As soon as a rhino is safely sedated, they motor up a chainsaw and begin shearing off the animal’s signature horns. White flakes of keratin fly through the air like snow, littering the ground. When they power the chainsaw off, only stubs are left where the rhino’s horns used to be.
White rhino population at KZN nature reserve dehorned 28 April 2021 - 11:54 White rhinos in Spioenkop Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal were dehorned in the fight to save the species from increasing poaching threats. Image: Casey Pratt
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, funded and supported by conservation NGO Wildlife ACT, dehorned the white rhino population in Spioenkop Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal over three days, making it one of the biggest rhino dehorning operations in the province.
On Wednesday, Wildlife ACT, a registered non-profit organisation established to save Africa’s iconic and endangered species from extinction, explained that dehorning of rhino populations was adopted as an effective tool in the fight to save the species from increasing poaching threats.