Rhino bloodbath surges on S. Africa’s private reserves
FEATURE |
TOUWS RIVER — The giant rhino slumps to the ground with haunting cries as it fights for its life, a bloodied, fleshy pulp in the place where poachers sawed off its horn.
The critically injured male is one of the latest victims in South Africa’s rhino bloodbath, which is surging on privately owned reserves as criminal syndicates target easier prey for the Asian black market.
“I’m at war,” exhausted owner Searl Derman told AFP before heading out again with a veterinarian to try to treat the highly stressed animal.
It’s an expensive battle: Derman has racked up bills for tracking helicopters, vets and 24-hour anti-poaching measures, but is competing with hunters who are chasing horns that fetch half-a-million dollars a kilo..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110828com3.html
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