Another animal left to die in agony by the poachers: Horrified tourists discover rhino wandering in pain after its horn is hacked off in latest Kruger National Park horror

A film of a mutilated rhino in South Africa was uploaded to YouTube

It remained alive for five days before being found by rangers and put down

They found that it had a bullet lodged in its brain and wouldn't have lived

' The rate of rhino poaching in South Africa is horrific' - WWF

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT



Evidence of the brutality of poachers in South Africa has surfaced once again with a shocking video of another badly mutilated rhino in Kruger National Park.



Footage of the animal staggering along a road with its horn hacked off was filmed by horrified tourists and uploaded to YouTube.



Clearly in distress, the film, shot on February 28, shows the rhino swaying from side to side and then stumbling into the undergrowth.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT



Shocking: A mutilated rhino was filmed by tourists stumbling along a road in the Kruger National Park in South Africa In distress: Poachers had cruelly hacked off its horn and left it to die in agony

The heart-breaking footage follows a graphic video that went viral earlier in February of a white rhino found in the same park last year that had its horns, tongue, nose and eyes savagely hacked off.

That animal had to be euthanized – and the rhino filmed more recently was also put down. But tragically it remained alive in agony for five days.

It wasn’t found by park rangers until Tuesday and they discovered that it had a bullet lodged in its brain.



Reynold Thakhuli from South African National Parks said: ‘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.’



Too late to save: Rangers eventually found the animal five days later and put it down as they discovered it had a bullet lodged in its brain

Thakhuli said the Ranger in charge, after a thorough assessment of the animal, took a decision to put it down to end the suffering that it had endured since the poaching incident.



He said: ‘There was simply no chance of surviving for this poor animal and unfortunately it had to be put down.



‘We will continue to work hard in the fight against the overwhelming scourge that is currently targeting the KNP... to us one rhino killed is one too many.’



South African National Parks said in a statement that it would like to 'extend its gratitude to the visitors who alerted the authorities about the heart-breaking incident'.

Last year 1,004 rhinos were killed in South Africa by poachers, which is 7,700 per cent more than 2007, according to the WWF

Royal collection: There are more than 1,200 items in the Royal Collection which are listed as containing ivory, including this throne and footstool

Heather Sohl, Chief Species Advisor at WWF-UK, told MailOnline: 'It’s a terrible sight, but this video has highlighted an occurrence that sadly isn’t as rare as it should be.

'The rate of rhino poaching in South Africa is horrific and it’s happening to feed an unnecessary demand for their horns in Asia.

'Last year 1,004 rhinos were killed in South Africa by poachers, which is a shocking 7,700 per cent more than 2007, when 13 rhinos were poached. Unfortunately the rate of poaching so far this year shows no sign of reducing. We need strong action to combat this serious crime.'

Prince William called for 1,200 ivory artefacts in Buckingham Palace to be destroyed to send a message to illegal elephant poachers.

Under threat: There has been a shocking increase in rhino poaching in South Africa recently

Tourist attraction: Kruger National Park is a popular holiday destination, with poaching there strictly illegal



