WWF bemoans killing of L/stone rhino

 WWF Zambia says it is saddened by the recent killing of a three-year-old white rhino in Livingstone’s Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. The Ministry of Tourism has offered an undisclosed reward to anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the poachers who killed the white rhino. Ministry of Tourism Principal Public Relations Officer Nelly Banda revealed that the incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday between 02:00 and 03:00 hours. In a statement, WWF Zambia stated that the devastating event marked a significant setback in Zambia’s ongoing efforts to restore its rhino population. “WWF Zambia is deeply saddened by the recent resurgence of rhino poaching, with the latest incident occurring on Tuesday, 11th March, 2025...

Source: WWF bemoans killing of L/stone rhino (14/03/2025)

Truck kills two rhinos in Zambian national park

Two white rhinos were killed when a truck hit them in the Mosi-oa-Tunya national park in Livingstone, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation reported.

It said the truck with Namibian registration numbers hit the animals on the Livingstone-Kazungula road which passes through the national park.

Southern Province Minister Edify Hamukale told the broadcaster that he had instructed the department of national parks and wildlife, the road development agency and the road transport and safety agency to put up speed humps on the road within the park to avoid similar accidents.

He said it was also important to place visible warning signs indicating that wild animals often crossed the road within the park, to alert motorists.

Source: Truck kills two rhinos in Zambian national park (27/02/20)

National Parks Re-Secure 2 White Rhinos

 The Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) has re-secured two white rhinos that had strayed out of Mosi Oa Tunya National Park in Livingstone and went as far as Kazungula district.

Ministry of Tourism and Arts Public Relations officer Sakabilo Kalembwe stated that DNPW made several attempts to herd the rhinos back to the park but they continued to drift further away into apparent hot poaching spots in Katombora and Kazungula.

“It was at this moment when the scale of threats of poaching and safety of the animals became more apparent that the department and other well-wishers put resources together to have the elusive rhinos safely returned to the park,” Kalembwe stated.

“The Wildlife Veterinary Unit of DNPW was called in from Chilanga to quickly capture the rhinos and translocate them to the park. The unit expertly immobilized the rhinos, loaded them on truck and transported them back into the park where they were released.”

He stated that the two have since joined the other rhinos in the park.

Kalembwe disclosed that Mosi Oa Tunya National Park has a total of 10 white rhinos.

He stated that during their stray, the rhinos were constantly monitored and guarded by the Wildlife Police Officers (WPO) of the rhino monitoring team.

“It is not clear why the rhinos left the park but the diminished natural food resources (due to drought/climate change) in the park cannot be ruled out despite the provision of supplementary food like hay and Lucerne,” stated Kalembwe.

“The Department is encouraged by the vigilance and concerns raised by the public to have the animals returned to the safety of the National Park. DNPW would also like to thank the well-wishers that came forth at short notice to provide their support.”

Source: National Parks Re-Secure 2 White Rhinos (23/10/19)

Two white rhinos killed in Mosi-o-Tunya Park

TWO white rhinos were last week killed in the Mosi-O-Tunya National Park in Livingstone.

The Department of National Parks and Wildlife suspects the killing of the two rhinos was an inside job, as the radio-tagged animals were well-protected and were under surveillance.

“We strongly suspect that this was an inside job involving one of our officers,” said Sakabilo Kalembwe, who is Ministry of Tourism and Arts spokesperson.

According to Mr Kalembwe, the rhinos, a male named Lewis and a female named Sepo, were gunned down on Sunday night by poachers who went away with a horn from one of the animals 

Source: Two white rhinos killed in Mosi-o-Tunya Park (30/09/18)

More: Chinese Poachers kill Rhinos in Livingstone park (26/06/18)

Surge in poaching sees 50 Zimbabwe rhinos killed

A significant surge in rhino poaching in Zimbabwe in 2015 saw at least 50 rhino poached, more than double the figure lost the previous year, a conservation group has reported.

Forty-two of the rhino lost last year were black rhino, said the Lowveld Rhino Trust in a statement. Only around 20 rhino were lost to poachers in Zimbabwe in 2014, according to the trust.

Although there were some rhino births recorded in 2014, the increase in deaths mean that Zimbabwe's total population of white and black rhino has dropped to around 800 from just above 800 in 2014.

Most of the rhino were lost in Zimbabwe's Lowveld area in the south of the country, where the rhino population is considered particularly valuable.

Said the trust: "The majority of losses were suffered in the region that contains the only Zimbabwe populations that are regarded by IUCN [World Conservation Union] as being genetically and demographically viable – the Lowveld Conservancies."

The figures come as state media reported on the arrest of four men in the Matopos National Park near the second city of Bulawayo for allegedly tracking a rhino in the park.

The Herald newspaper said on Friday that investigations were continuing into exactly what the four were doing inside the park. So far the group has only been charged with criminal trespass, according to the report. 

Their lawyer says they were on their way to buy a car in the nearby Gulati communal lands when they saw animal tracks and decided to follow them out of interest.

The newspaper said that they were arrested on Tuesday by rangers and then handed over to police in a move that shows the Zimbabwe authorities' apparent determination to clamp down on rhino poaching.

A white rhino was reported poached in the Matopos in May 2015. No rhinos were poached in the Matopos in 2014.

A rhino poacher was handed a record 35-year jail sentence by a magistrate in Masvingo on New Year's Eve in a move welcomed by conservationists.

The Lowveld Rhino Trust said the man, named by the press as Tawengwa Machona, was a "hard-core" poacher.

Source: Surge in poaching sees 50 Zimbabwe rhinos killed (10/01/16)

Mosi-Oa-Tunya Rhino snare removed

ZAWA has reported that it successfully removed and treated a pregnant rhino that was recently caught up in a snare in Livingstone’s Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park.

The Rhino, known as Inonge was caught in a snare set by unknown poachers last week. Since Inonge is eight moths pregnant ZAWA Head of vet Dr David Squarre had to only partially anaesthetise her to avoid any complications that the use of drugs could cause to the pregnancy.

ZAWA is warning members of the public to desist from setting up snares - if caught they will be arrested and prosecuted by law.

Source: Mosi-Oa-Tunya Rhino Rescued (Zambia Tourism, 09-05-14)

Time to stop the slaughter

Tackling the illegal trade in wild animals is a matter of global urgency
The Guardian, 1 March 2013

The grisly trade in wild animals is underpinned by slaughter, smuggling and money-laundering. It's time to get serious.

Illegal trade in wildlife has now reached a scale that poses an immediate risk to wildlife and to people. Over the past five years, we have seen a dramatic spike in the poaching and illegal trade in elephants and rhinos. In 2011 an estimated 25,000 elephants were poached across Africa and in South Africa alone 668 rhinos were lost to poachers in 2012.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was born 40 years ago on 3 March, 1973 in Washington DC. It sets the global controls for trade in wildlife, and the 177 countries that have joined CITES will meet from Monday in Bangkok, Thailand to take stock of of the situation, step up enforcement efforts and send clear political signals on putting a stop to illegal wildlife trade.

Read more here.

Rhino top the agenda

Top of the conference agenda: The last chance to save the rhino
The Independent, 28 Feb 2013

With illegal trade in rhinos and elephants soaring, East Asian countries are under pressure to cut demand

The poaching crisis now engulfing Africa’s rhinos and elephants will be top of the agenda at one of the world’s major conservation conferences next week – with a global appeal to Vietnam and China.

At the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Bangkok, leading states including Britain will be putting pressure on the two Asian countries to curb their domestic demand for illegal rhino horn and ivory, which is driving the illegal killing of Africa’s biggest “big beasts” to unprecedented new levels.

Read more here