Rhino with horn hacked off filmed in South Africa – video Guardian

Tourists in South Africa’s Kruger national park, last week filmed grisly footage of a white rhino that has had its horn hacked off.

The injuries are believed to have been inflicted by poachers hunting for lucrative ivory.

The YouTube clip, filmed on 28 February, shows the rhino stopping on the road in front of the tourists’ vehicle, appearing to be disoriented and unsteady, before wandering off into the long grass. Its horn has gone, leaving a bloody mess on its nose, and one eye appears to be badly injured.



The tourists can be heard snapping photographs, saying “that’s extraordinary” and asking “is that recent, or is that old?”. The clips finishes with a radio message that sounds as if someone is reporting the sighting.

After searching for five days with helicopters and sniffer dogs, park rangers found the rhino alive – but in a bad condition – some distance from where it was first seen.

“An assessment was conducted to determine the extent of the injuries and suffering. It was discovered that a bullet had lodged in the rhino’s brain and therefore any chance of survival was slim,” SANParks acting head of communications, Reynold Thakhuli, told News24.

The bullet was affecting the rhino’s eye, and rangers took a decision to put the animal down after deciding there was no chance of its survival.



Thakhuli said the rhino’s horn could have been hacked off days earlier and the fact that it was young had kept it alive.

The bullet has been sent for ballistic testing to determine what type of rifle was used.

South Africa is home to more rhinos than any other country, including around 19,000 white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) and 2,000 black rhinos (Diceros bicornis).

The country has lost 146 rhinos so far this year after a record 1,004 of the animals were killed by poachers in 2013, according to the country’s Department of Environmental Affairs. Most of this poaching takes place in the Kruger national park.

The dramatic growth in rhino poaching in South Africa, up from just 13 in 2007, has largely been driven by demand in south-east Asia, where some people erroneously believe that it cures various ailments.



Rob Brandford, of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, said: “The pain and suffering that this maimed rhino endured is unimaginable, emotionally disturbing and demonstrates the brutality these animals are subjected to. The fate of the rhino in Africa is as dire as that of the African elephant. Last year, over 1,000 rhinos were butchered in South Africa alone, their faces hacked off, many still alive during the process like this animal.”