A suspected poacher has been shot in a confrontation with field rangers near the Crocodile Bridge entrance to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The incident happened on Thursday 18 September 2025, after the rangers discovered and followed a set of Human tracks leading towards the southern boundary of the park. At about 8.00 pm local time they reported encountering two armed men, who fled, successfully climbing over the boundary fence. One of the men then allegedly turned and raised his riffle towards the rangers, causing them to fire. The other fled into a cornfield and escaped.
When the rangers reached the man they had shot they found he was alive, and called for a doctor and police support. A search revealed that a bag the man was carrying contained two Rhino horns, and that he did not posses a permit to enter the park or carry a firearm. He was arrested at the scene, but then transferred to a local hospital where he will be held until he is deemed fit to appear before magistrates.
South Africa is home to more than half of the world's surviving Rhinoceros population, but has (like many other countries) faced significant problems from poaching of the Animals for their horns. This reached a peak between 2013 and 2017, with more than a thousand Rhinos being killed each year in South Africa, according to Save the Rhino, although the number fell each year from 2015 until 2020. During the COVID 19 pandemic there was an increase in poaching, with the number killed rising slowly each year until 2023. There was a drop of about 15% in 2024, although this still resulted in 420 known Rhinoceros poaching incidents. The majority of Rhino poaching is thought to be carried out by organised crime syndicates, rather than opportunistic local hunters.
See also...
.png)
.png)
