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ore than a thousand rhinos were dehorned in this park last year to make them less desirable targets for poaching syndicates.

Releasing the latest rhino poaching statistics yesterday (6 March) Environment Minister Dion George welcomed the “encouraging downward trend” in poaching, particularly in KZN, where poaching deaths dropped from 325 rhinos in 2023 to 232 last year.

“From January to December 2024, 420 rhinos were poached in South Africa, with 320 being killed on state properties and 100 on privately owned parks, reserves or farms. This was a decrease (of 79) in comparison to 499 rhinos poached in 2023.

“The hardest hit province continues to be KwaZulu-Natal that lost 232 rhinos; however, this is a notable decline from the 325 that were lost in 2023. The significant reduction can largely be attributed to the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Dehorning Programme, that was implemented in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park from April to October 2024.

“The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) funded programme had an immediate impact, with monthly poaching numbers dropping from 35 in April to fewer than 10 per month between May and September 2024.

“In October, however, poaching syndicates adapted their tactics and began targeting dehorned rhinos, leading to a sudden spike in poaching incidents in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park and in that month alone, the province lost 27 rhinos. Fortunately, the provincial anti-rhino poaching team responded swiftly, intercepting the new syndicate and preventing further losses. The considerable efforts resulted in the province ultimately achieving a 67% decline in rhino poaching over the eight months,” George’s statement said.

Steady drop

Jeff Cooke, the manager of WWF South Africa’s rhino conservation unit, that has been assisting Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife with a massive operation to dehorn rhinos in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, noted that the dehorning began only in April, leading to a steady drop in poaching during the last eight months of the year.

“It’s looking much better each month,” he said, recalling that more than 100 rhinos were gunned down in the first four months of the year, (before the dehorning operation began).

  Rhino of South Africa

It was likely, he said, that recent dehorning in KZN had deflected poaching pressure from this province back towards the Kruger National Park and other rhino reserves.

George confirmed that 88 rhinos were poached in Kruger last year – 10 more animals than the 78 deaths reported for Kruger National Park in 2023.  

“Up until the end of November 2024, rhino losses reported in the Kruger National Park stood at 67, but a significant escalation in rhino poaching activities was experienced during December 2024 and this has continued into January 2025.

“ A total of 21 rhino were reported poached in Kruger National Park during December 2024 and a further 17 were reported poached during January 2025.  This escalation in rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park is of great concern.”

He said SANParks and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife were both continuing to implement “a number of actions and initiatives” to reduce poaching in hotspot areas, including polygraph (lie-detector) tests for conservation staff. These tests had led to the arrests of at least two rangers in Kruger.

(Graphic: Supplied by DFFE)

(Graphic: Supplied by DFFE)

(Graphic: Supplied by DFFE)

While the latest statistics appear to be a cause for hope, it remains difficult to measure the true significance of the latest decline in poaching deaths as a percentage of the total population. This is because annual statistical estimates on the total remaining population of rhinos in South African reserves are not publicised for security reasons.

However, total rhino numbers have been dropping dramatically since around 2008, the year poaching began to escalate significantly in South Africa – reaching an annual killing rate of more than 1,000 animals a year for five consecutive years between 2013 and 2017.

The worst year was 2014, when 1,215 rhinos were shot and butchered nationally.

Poaching deaths have since declined steadily, partly because there are now fewer rhinos to poach and also due to more effective security measures and dehorning programmes.

However, dehorning still has limitations due to high costs and because there have been several cases of dehorned rhinos being killed to extract their remnant horn stumps, especially with older animals and those that are not dehorned regularly.

In his statement, Minister George said he was encouraged that there had been “some very good convictions in relation to rhino related cases, with lengthy direct imprisonment terms “.

“However, the time that it takes to finalise many of these cases does remain a concern and unfortunately where the suspects are released on bail, the data tells us that a large number of them continue to commit crimes (often relating to rhino poaching and/or horn trafficking). Accordingly, expediting these cases through our courts as well as vigorously opposing bail will no doubt result in safeguarding more rhino.”

He noted the recent conviction of Francis Kipampa, a 50-year-old Congolese citizen who had become a major role-player in the buying of rhino horns in Gauteng. 

He was sentenced in January to 18 years’ imprisonment, of which eight years were suspended for five years), during a collaborative investigation into organised crime and money laundering known as Project Blood Orange.

In a second case, Ntsako Miaas Maluleke and Phanuel Vutivi Chabalala (arrested at OR Tambo Airport in 2018 en route to Vietnam with two boxes containing 27 rhino horns) were convicted last year and sentenced to 20 years in jail (five years of which was suspended, resulting in an effective 15 years in prison)

Two Kruger Park rangers, Lucky Mkanzi and Joe Sihlangu, were also sentenced to an effective term of 20 years each after being convicted on several charges related to assisting in rhino poaching in the Crocodile Bridge area for financial reward.

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Giraffes are among the world’s most recognisable animals. With their elongated necks and long legs, their gracious movements and unique coat patterns, they have inspired people’s imaginations for centuries.

But is a giraffe just a giraffe? Or is there more variety between the animals at a genetic level than is evident just from looking at them?

For more than a decade many researchers have compared the DNA of giraffes from all parts of Africa. These studies have revealed that there are four distinct giraffe species: the southern (Giraffa giraffa), Masai (Giraffa tippelskirchi), reticulated (Giraffa reticulata), and northern (Giraffa camelopardalis) giraffe.

Different giraffe species face different risks. Some are among the most threatened large mammals in the world. While the southern and the Masai giraffe are relatively numerous and their populations estimated at approximately 45,000 and 50,000 individuals respectively, the situation does not look quite as rosy for the reticulated and the northern giraffe. Based on the latest estimates from the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), only 16,000 and 6,000 individuals respectively remain in the wild.

Therefore, it is critical to verify whether there are indeed different species of giraffe or not so that direct conservation efforts for the most threatened species can be increased before it’s too late.

The concept of species is fundamental in biology – but there is no consensus on its definition. There are many different approaches depending on individual scientists’ points of view. The best possible way to clarify the taxonomy (the system that organises living entities into groups) of organisms is through multiple approaches.

There have been several studies of giraffe species based on their DNA, as well as on their ecology, behaviour, health and coat patterns.

But there haven’t been many based on their skulls. That’s where our new study comes in. By examining the skulls of more than 500 giraffes from across the African continent, we were able to show that there are significant differences in the skull shapes of the different types of giraffe – and confirm that there are four species.

These new findings are crucial for giraffe taxonomy and, ultimately, their conservation.

How scientists discovered that giraffe can use statistical reasoning

How the study was done

Giraffe skulls are important to the animals’ reproduction and evolution. That’s because of their ossicones, the horn-like structures that are longer and wider in males than in females.

The size and shape of the ossicones is important in the dominance of males and their mating success with female giraffe. While some preliminary data already suggested some potential differences in the ossicone morphology between the giraffe species, limitations on the available specimens and the methodologies at the time reduced the validity of the results.

For our research we used state-of-the-art equipment and methodologies, and we studied more than 500 giraffe skulls from all over Africa. The skulls were directly sampled in the field from across their natural range in Africa, as well as museum collections, wildlife authority offices, and taxidermists in different countries in Africa, Europe and the US.

This extensive study required help from many different partners. While the project was initiated and guided by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and the University of Cape Town, many colleagues in Africa, Europe and North America contributed.

We used a handheld 3D scanner to capture the skulls’ shape in 3D. Then we used 3D geometric morphometrics methods to compare the shape of the giraffe skulls and find out if we could group them and find any significant differences. We chose so-called landmarks – specific points on the skulls – and captured their coordinates in space (their 3D distance from the centre of mass of the skull).

Finally, specialised software was used to compare the differences in the coordinates of landmarks between our specimens and to conduct statistical analyses to show if these differences were significant or not.

Skull variations

These rigorous analyses allowed us to show skull variations between four species.

These differences mostly concerned the ossicones. But there were also minor differences in their face, eye sockets, the region around the teeth, and the back part of the skull.

The most striking difference concerned the median ossicone of the males. This is a smaller third ossicone situated in the midline of the skull above their eyes. We determined that there is a general trend in the size and shape of this ossicone that follows geography and taxonomy. In southern giraffe, the third ossicone is practically a small protrusion; in northern giraffe it is large and pointed; the Masai and reticulated giraffe have ossicones that are somewhere between those two forms.

Such differences are likely important in the way individuals of a species recognise each other, thus affecting their reproductive success. Males with more developed ossicones intimidate their rivals to gain access to territory and females.

Attention for individual species

Our study is confirmation of what scientists have known for almost a decade and supports the taxonomic split of the giraffe.

Similar discussions over two decades finally resulted in the African elephant being split into two distinct species in 2021.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – which, it must be pointed out, is not a taxonomic authority – still only recognises one species of giraffe. It lumps all giraffes into one broad, threatened Red List category.

We strongly believe that the IUCN needs to stand tall for these animals and reassess their status. It is time for each giraffe species to get separate and enhanced attention, both locally and internationally, in particular when it comes to their conservation. Giraffes and their wild habitats must be protected before it’s too late.