Over 100 Rhinos Killed in First 3 Months of 2025 in South Africa, Data Shows

Poachers killed over 100 rhinos in South Africa within the first three months of 2025, in response to South African Environment Minister Dion George.

From Jan. 1 to March 31, 103 rhinos have been killed, and 65 of these have been poached in South African nationwide parks, George mentioned in a assertion on Monday, May 5.

“The loss of 103 rhinos to poaching in the first three months of 2025 is a stark reminder of the relentless threat to our wildlife,” George mentioned, earlier than noting that some progress has been made. “Yet, the absence of poaching in 4 provinces reveals that our focused interventions are yielding outcomes, and we should construct on this progress.”

In 2024, 420 rhinos have been misplaced, with a median of 35 rhinos killed per thirty days versus the 2025 common of 34 per thirty days. “In the final decade, poachers have killed virtually 10,000 rhinos throughout Africa to feed the demand for horn on the black market,” the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) studies.

South Africa has the biggest rhino inhabitants, with roughly 16,000 to 18,000 black and white rhinos within the nation, in response to conservation teams. Black rhinos are listed as critically endangered. Around 6,400 are left in all of Africa, and a couple of,000 of these are in South Africa, per the International Rhino Foundation.

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The International Rhino Foundation mentioned that rhino horn is “a profitable, illicit commodity wanted by well-established, organized and highly effective transnational prison syndicates.” 

George’s May 5 announcement follows the 15 arrests and 5 prosecutions towards folks for rhino poaching and associated offenses in South Africa. On April 30, one man from Mozambique, Nelson Sambo, was sentenced to twenty years in jail for rhino poaching and associated offenses. Mozambique, which borders South Africa, is thought to be a key transit and recruitment hub for poaching syndicates.

In August 2024, Mozambican poaching “kingpin” Simon Ernesto Valoi was sentenced to 27 years in jail, per the Wildlife Justice Commission. He was convicted of working an operation poaching rhinos in South Africa’s large Kruger National Park — which borders Mozambique.