Sanparks to evacuate threatened rhino

"South Africa is considering a range of rhino strongholds, inclusive of national parks, provincial reserves, communal areas and private reserves," she told reporters in Pretoria and Cape Town.

Responding to a question, Molewa said her department was also looking at moving some rhino out of the country.

"Part of the translocation will include the Southern African Development Community, the SADC area in particular... We have already started discussions with Botswana, we are working with Zambia, we are working with other countries, but more intensely those two in particular," she said.

Within the park, authorities would establish "intensive protection zones" aimed at reducing the threat to rhino.

"Here, several technologically advanced methods are being explored to help anti-poaching teams to intensively reinforce the protection of rhino," Molewa said.

SA National Parks large mammal ecologist Sam Ferreira said up to 500 rhino could be removed.

"If you want to give rhino a chance, you remove them from places where they have a high probability of being killed.

"The kind of numbers are based on sound ecological models... you can remove rhino up to roughly about 500..." he said.

Molewa said that between January and August 6 this year, a total of 631 rhino were killed by poachers in South Africa, 408 of them in the Kruger.

The most recent rhino population survey, conducted last year, showed there were currently between 8400 and 9600 white rhino in the park.

"Poaching, natural deaths and the translocation of rhino from the Kruger National Park presently match that of rhino births," she said.

Ferreira said at present the rhino birth rate in the park was about eight percent, the natural death rate about two percent, and the poaching rate about six percent.

He said it was important to note that in 1960, there had been no rhino in the Kruger National Park, until 350 were introduced from KwaZulu-Natal.

This population had grown to between 8700 and 12,200 by 2010.

He said it should also be noted that the total rhino population in South Africa continued to grow.

Speaking at the briefing, national police commissioner Riah Phiyega revealed that SA Police Service units were pursuing rhino poachers from the Kruger into Mozambique.

"Yes, we have a hot pursuit agreement, meaning that when... somebody crosses the border, we do have an agreement with Mozambique to follow through," she said, responding to a question.

"[Hot pursuits] are happening... They happen all the time," Phiyega said, declining to give details of how many such operations had taken place.

Asked which units were involved, she said these included the police special task force, as well as its air wing, dog unit, and forensic unit.

"The hot pursuit agreement allows us to follow poachers across our own border."

The briefing was called to inform the media on government's latest plans to protect the country's rhino from poaching.

A total of 1004 rhino were killed by poachers in South Africa last year, 606 of them in the Kruger.

 

(File Photo: Gallo Images)