Poaching incidents have again raised their ugly head at the Kruger National Park (KNP) after two former senior members of the park were arrested.
Two suspects were arrested after they were found in possession of a warthog, an impala ram, and a rucksack, among some other wild animals.
Two others on the run
According to the information, the park’s rangers were on a routine afternoon patrol on Sunday, May 11, when they found the suspects. Two of them were apprehended, while the other two managed to flee.
The two arrested suspects who are former SANParks Corporal who was based at Skukuza Ranger Section of KNP. The second suspect is a well-known serial environmental crime offender. They suspects cannot be named until they appear in court
The Environmental Crime Investigative Unit and the SAPS are on a manhunt for the two other suspects.
Police have since described this arrest as a successful operation for this past week. This follows another arrest of two suspected poachers in the Joint Protected Zone. The arrests were made last week, on Wednesday, May 7.
“The arrests will go a long way in boosting the morale of the rangers corps in their anti-poaching campaign,” read the police statement.
New spike in cases
Despite the decline in rhino poaching recently, police were investigating five fresh new cases in KNP and Mpumalanga. In January this year they confirmed that there was a slight spike in rhino poaching. This happened during the festive season in the park. About 19 rhinos were poached in the park in December alone.
Last year (2024), there were 17, 464 white rhinos (near threatened) and 6, 421 black rhinos (critically endangered) left in the world.
According to stats, 229 rhinos have been poached in South Africa from January to June 2024. A total of 191 rhinos were killed on state-owned reserves, and 38 on privately owned reserves.
