The cost of a four-man armed unit at present is more than R80 000 per month. Four men can only cover a small area per day and farms range from 1000 to 50 000 Ha.
HOW WE PROTECT OUR RHINO
The only way LRC can try and keep the rhino in its area safe is with armed anti-poaching teams, onsite 24 hours a day; specialised fencing and equipment; and a fully-equipped operations room, manned 24/7.
“The scary thing is that in my lifetime, 95 percent of the world’s rhinos have been killed.”
– Mark Carwardine, British zoologist
The white rhino population in Limpopo game farms is estimated at more than 900 while that of black rhino is estimated at more than 100.
During 2014 Limpopo lost the most rhino in a single year – 134 in total. At the end of 2014, the Limpopo Rhino Conservation (LRC) was established, consisting of private rhino owners, private security, SAPS, the Environmental Management Inspectorate, and conservation authorities. Their joint activities resulted in a +50% decline in rhino poaching in the area. But it would be foolhardy to rest on our laurel. Poachers are becoming increasingly devious, finding ways around implemented security measures.
It’s easy to put on our blinkers and hope the rhino poaching problem will go away by itself. The statistics point out just how erroneous that belief is:
- 688 rhino poached in 2017 in South Africa
- 508 rhino poached in 2018 in South Africa
- 594 rhino poached in 2019 in South Africa
The above information excludes the provincial and SAN PARKS rhino.