By Redaction ARPS Media with AP
In the first quarter of this year, over 100 rhinos were poached in South Africa, with many incidents occurring within national parks.
Environment Minister Dion George announced that 65 of the 103 rhinos killed were from these protected areas, indicating a continuing trend observed from the previous year. South Africa hosts the largest rhino population in the world, estimated to be between 16,000 and 18,000, which includes critically endangered black rhinos, of which approximately 6,400 remain.
Authorities have been focusing their efforts on dismantling criminal syndicates involved in rhino poaching, as evidenced by the recent conviction of a poaching kingpin from Mozambique, who received a 27-year sentence for his involvement in rhino poaching in Kruger National Park.
