The sickening attack on the Fundimvelo Rhino Orphanage at Thula Thula in South...

The sickening attack on the Fundimvelo Rhino Orphanage at Thula Thula in South...
It’s always good to be able to start the New Year on a positive note. So the...
Today is World Environment Day, the theme – illegal wildlife...
Yesterday we published an interview with Simon Naylor, reserve manager at...
How bad is the rhino poaching in Africa right now and how big a toll is the...
Rhino conservationists have reacted with alarm and dismay to a South African...
With a depressing inevitability, the countdown to extinction for the northern...
Amid all the doom and gloom of rhino poaching, it’s worth an occasional...
by Ann & Steve on March 9, 2017 in Uncategorized
The sickening attack on the Fundimvelo Rhino Orphanage at Thula Thula in South Africa in recent weeks, (see our earlier report on the work of the orphanage) and the worrying escalation of violation in poaching incidents this latest episode suggests, together with the shocking poaching incident in a French zoo in the last few days, […]
by Ann & Steve on January 3, 2017 in Uncategorized
It’s always good to be able to start the New Year on a positive note. So the launch of a major new ‘photography for conservation’ project for rhinos this month certainly gets the thumbs up from Project African Rhino, not only because we hope to play a small part in its success, but also because […]
by Ann & Steve on June 5, 2016 in Uncategorized
Today is World Environment Day, the theme – illegal wildlife trafficking. Whether or not to legalise the trade in rhino horn has been one of the hottest controversies surrounding the poaching crisis. The South African government has backed off plans to seek the legalisation of an international horn trade later this year at the CITES convention, […]
by Ann & Steve on June 3, 2016 in Uncategorized
Yesterday we published an interview with Simon Naylor, reserve manager at Phinda private game reserve in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, revealing the full impact of poaching on the reserve’s rhinos, finances and staff. Today we publish his report of a recent poaching incident. The report has been edited to remove location and identity information for […]
by Ann & Steve on June 2, 2016 in Uncategorized
How bad is the rhino poaching in Africa right now and how big a toll is the deadly horn trade taking on those battling to save them day in, day out? Reserve manager Simon Naylor of Phinda game reserve in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province has just had the job of dehorning their population of rhinos in […]
by Ann & Steve on November 26, 2015 in Uncategorized
Rhino conservationists have reacted with alarm and dismay to a South African High Court ruling that lifts a ban on domestic trade of rhino horn within the country. Judge Francis Legodi today struck down the moratorium on domestic trade imposed by the South African government in 2009, saying the government had failed to properly consult […]
by Ann & Steve on November 23, 2015 in Uncategorized
With a depressing inevitability, the countdown to extinction for the northern white rhino continues. Nola, a 41 year old female living at San Diego Zoo, has been put down, after unsuccessful treatment for a bacterial infection. She was also suffering from arthritis and other age-related issues. This leaves only three of the sub-species remaining, one […]
by Ann & Steve on July 19, 2015 in Uncategorized
Amid all the doom and gloom of rhino poaching, it’s worth an occasional reminder to ourselves of why rhinos are such amazing creatures, and worth our energy and effort to save. On a recent visit to KwaZulu-Natal we shot some video of white rhinos at a waterhole, including a very small calf. If you’ve never […]
by Ann & Steve on June 22, 2015 in Uncategorized
Ithuba is six and half months old. He’s a white rhino calf and the first inpatient at the new rhino orphanage at Thula Thula private game reserve in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. He’s had a bad night and his carers are concerned about his situation. There’s a real sense of tension in the air. His […]
by Ann & Steve on March 23, 2015 in Uncategorized
Could a synthetically produced imitation of rhino horn undermine the black market in poached horn, and help save the rhino? That’s the intriguing proposition behind Pembient, a San Francisco-based biotech start-up, which plans to bio-engineer a faux rhino horn that’s genetically indistinguishable from the real thing, and sell it to Asian consumers at prices below […]
Project: African Rhino was a multimedia photojournalism project which aimed to raise awareness of rhino conservation issues such as poaching and the illegal horn trade, forensic research, community involvement in conservation and much more. The specific project has concluded, but we are leaving the blog material online as a reference archive for interested readers.
South African rhinos poached in 2016: 1054.
South African rhinos poached in 2017 Jan-Jun: 529
Updated: July 2017
Source: SA Dept of Environmental Affairs
The Department has ceased (controversially) publishing regular monthly updates of poaching incidence.
Official figures are, in any case, widely considered to be a significant underestimate of actual poaching numbers. Some carcasses are never found, some injured rhinos later die and by the time they are found cannot positively be identified as poaching victims, and some private rhino owners do not report poaching incidents for various reasons.