Rhino Alive

Putting a price on those who slaughter our rhinos - R100 000 reward for a poacher and R1 million for the kingpin.

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This Is Why We Love Kruger By Arno & Louise Meintjes

"We were sitting with a lion pride of 19 @ about 16h00, only us, no other cars.
 
They were relaxed and sleepy as the temperature was 44 degrees Celsius.

 All of a sudden everyone was sitting, staring down the river bed and that is when we saw the Black Rhino.

 The Black Rhino casually used his horn and feet and dug for water in the dry riverbed.

 He found water and spend a while drinking.

 As the Rhino was leaving, passing the lions, the lions all got up and sped to the freshly dug waterhole.

 All 19 lions had a very good drink of water.

 In a matter of 40 minutes we saw nature at it’s very very best with one animal supplying water from a dry riverbed to 20 animals in total."

Three Suspected Rhino Poachers Appear In The Skukuza Magistrate’s Court

Three suspected rhino poachers appeared in the Skukuza Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, a Sapa correspondent reported.

They would remain in custody until October 21, when they would apply for bail in the Kabokweni Magistrate's Court. They had not been asked to plead yet.

Mpumalanga police first arrested Edwin Mdluli, 23, and confiscated a bag containing two fresh rhino horns during a stop and search operation between KaNyamazane and Mbombela last Thursday.

 On Monday, police raided a house in KaNyamazane where they arrested Bheki Mdluli 36, and later Ralph Mlambo, 25.

 Skukuza police spokesman Warrant Officer Oubaas Coetzer said Edwin Mdluli was arrested when police stopped a Nissan single cab bakkie.

“There were five people inside. As it stopped four suspects got out and fled on foot. The driver of the bakkie remained inside and police conducted a search and found a rifle and 12 live rounds of ammunition wrapped in an overall,” he said.

 When police searched the vehicle further they found two rhino horns in a bag.

“Bheki Mdluli and Mlambo were also linked to the rhino poaching case and are believed to had been travelling together with Edwin when they were stopped. The two other suspects are still at large,” said Coetzer.

 Coetzer said the rhino was believed to have been poached in the Malalane section of Skukuza. He said Mlambo had previously been implicated in rhino poaching cases. The two rhino horns retrieved apparently matched a carcass found at Skukuza.

 By:
 South African Press Association

On Safari With Dean From 12 October 2013

12 October 2013

Today we picked up the clients at The Genesis Hotel and made our way to Nelspruit were we changed vehicles and headed towards Nkambeni Safari Camp.

Guests were then given time to have lunch and a rest before going on their first game drive.

We left camp at 15h30 and made our way down the Numbi gate tar getting good sightings of zebra, buffalo and impala. We turned down onto Napi road and got more sightings of buffalo, impala and kudu. We made our way around the Napi boulders and then onto Shithave dam getting waterbuck and impala.

Rhino sightings were also enjoyed thought the afternoon drive.

As it was getting late we made our way back to camp while on the way getting great sightings of more rhino, buffalo, sable antelope, impala, waterbuck and two hyena and there pups.

We returned to camp a bit late for the gate, but having experienced some great sightings.

13 October 2013

We left Nkambeni Safari Camp at 06h00 and made our way up the Numbi gate tar, getting good sightings of buffalo, hyena and kudu. We turned onto Napi Road and immediately got a good sighting of buffalo and Sable antelope. We made our way on getting more good sightings of elephant, impala, kudu, waterbuck, wildebeest and rhino.

Just after the Transport dam turnoff, we came across a clan of eight hyena laughing in the road trying to coax out the pups from the culvert. After having a good sighting and after pulling away, we got a call of a leopard sighting two kilometers from the Watergat junction, upon arrival we managed to get into a good position and enjoyed a good sighting.

While on the leopard sighting, we were told of some lions lying a couple of kilometres down the H 3. We made our way in that direction and were blessed to find a lioness together with her cubs lying next to the road. After the sighting, we made our way back in the direction of Skukuza for a break, before carrying on with another drive.

After our break, we made our way onto Elloff street taking a drive along the Sabie River, we got a good sighting of buffalo on Alpha loop.

We heard of a pride of lions lying next to the river further down towards the high water bridge, we made our way in that direction, and managed to get a gold sighting before the traffic built up.

We went on getting more good sightings of buffalo and elephant. The route taken after the lion sighting was over the high water bridge onto the link road and then down the Tshokwane tar back to Skukuza.

Sightings encountered on that portion of the drive was impala, kudu, elephant, baboon, lions, bushbuck.

Upon returning to Skukuza, we decided to carry on back down Napi Road to Pretoriuskop Camp for lunch, before returning to Nkambeni Safari Camp for a rest, before the guests left on the afternoon / evening Safari.

Sightings that were enjoyed by the guests this afternoon were elephant, kudu, buffalo, zebra, impala, rhino, waterbuck, sable antelope and warthog.

We returned back to camp at 15h00 for the guests to have their rest, before leaving on the next drive.

14 October 2013

On this day we left camp at 06h00am and travelled on the camp access road getting to groups of buffalo, elephant, impala and kudu.

We turned onto the Numbi Gate Tar getting four different groups of buffalo as well as hyena pups and their mothers 100m past Hendrick Pretorius grave. We carried on getting rhino as well as sable antelope 105km past the junction.

We decided to then take a drive to shithave dam getting hippo and waterbuck.

2.7km past shithave dam we spotted 10 lions who had just finished eating on a buffalo calf.
Five different rhino sightings were also enjoyed thought the morning after which we made our way out the Park gates and headed back to Johannesburg so guests could catch their flight to Cape Town.

Keep watching for more updates!

Four Suspected Poachers Arrested In KwaZulu-Natal

On Sunday 13 October 2013, at approximately 20:00, members from the Mbazwana police station received intelligence of suspected poachers in the area. Police traced the vehicle, a blue Mazda drifter Double cab and found four men in the vehicle.
 
After a thorough search of the vehicle a dismantled rifle was found underneath the vehicle next to the fuel tank. Four men, two of whom are from Mozambique, were arrested and will be charged for possession of an unlicensed firearm. The vehicle used by the suspects was confiscated by police. All four suspects appeared in the Ubombo Magistrate Court on Tuesday.

 The Provincial Commissioner for KwaZulu-Natal, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni commended police for their vigilance. “Poaching at Game Reserves remains a concern for police and we will do everything that is within our control to bring the perpetrators to book. Detectives will establish if these men are linked to other cases of poaching in the province,” she said.

 By:
 South African Police Service

Five Suspected Rhino Poachers In Police Custody

Five suspected rhino poachers have remained under police custody, after a second court appearance on Monday, at Lehurutshe Magistrate’s Court near Zeerust in the North West.
 
North West Hawks spokesperson Paul Ramaloko says the two foreigners and three South Africans are facing charges of conspiracy to commit rhino poaching, entering a game reserve without declaring a firearm, possession of unlicensed firearm and rounds of ammunition.

 Ramaloko says the case has been postponed for further police investigations and the five suspects will re-appear in court on October 16.

 This is a second case whereby suspects were arrested at Botsalano Game Reserve with the same charges.

 73 rhinos have been killed and dehorned in the North West province since the beginning of the year, while over 700 rhino have been killed and dehorned nationally.

 Meanwhile, a suspect who was arrested in connection with rhino poaching at KaNyamazane east of Nelspruit in Mpumalanga is also expected to appear in court.

 By:
 South African Broadcasting Corporation

Suspected Rhino Poacher To Appear In Court

A 22-year-old Mpumalanga man arrested in possession of two rhino horns is expected to appear in the KaNyamazane Magistrate's Court on Monday.
 
The suspect, from Hazyview, was arrested in possession of two fresh rhino horns during a stop and search operation in KaNyamazane outside Mbombela at around 23:30 on Thursday.

On Friday morning, the suspect accompanied police to the Kruger National Park, where he told them the rhino was killed.

Before heading to the Kruger, he told journalists and police officers that he had not killed the rhino, but had only driven his friends to the killing spot.

 "I'm not good in shooting; my friends who ran away are good at that. I only drive them there, carry their food to the site and then drive them back," said the suspected poacher.
 The poacher, who is a South African, said his four friends are also South African.

 Mpumalanga police spokesperson Gerald Sedibe the suspect was stopped with four others on the KaNyamazane road.

 He said when police stopped their bakkie, there were five men inside, but the four others ran and left the driver behind.

“The vehicle was searched and police found a rifle and two fresh rhino horns. Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed that they shot the rhino at the Kruger National Park at around 21:00 on Thursday evening.

 "After a fruitless search for the other suspects, police are appealing to the community of Hazyview, especially those from the Nyongane area where the suspects are believed to be from, to help. They must alert their nearest police station if they see them," said Sedibe.
 He said police would also establish if the bakkie was stolen.

 Sedibe said the suspect will appear in the KaNyamazane Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges of possession of rhino horns and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
 Kruger National Park spokesperson William Mabasa confirmed a rhino was killed in the Kruger near the Malalane gate on Thursday.

 "Rangers discovered a fresh carcass; however there is no proof that those horns belong to the fresh one we found.

 "We must still do tests to determine if the horns which were found with the suspect at KaNyamazane are really those of the fresh carcass that we found,” said Mabasa.

 By:
 News24.com

Seven Poachers Arrested

In three successful joint anti-poaching operations between the South African Police Service and SANParks personnel into adjacent areas outside the Kruger National Park, a total of seven suspected rhino poachers were arrested.

A fresh rhino horn, two firearms and ammunition were recovered during the operation.

Issued by:
 South African National Parks

Poachers Arrested

On Friday, 11th October 2013, rangers in the Crocodile Bridge section of the Kruger National Park made contact with three suspected rhino poachers near Godleni Gate.
During the incident, one suspect was injured and arrested and the other two suspects managed to escape back to Mozambique.

One firearm, ammunition and an axe were recovered. Investigations are underway.

Issued by:
 South African National Parks