A female rhino was killed and de-horned in the Kariega Game Reserve near Kenton-on-Sea in the Eastern Cape, reserve management said.

“We are not exactly sure what happened, but a female rhino was poached and the horn removed,” reserve general manager, Allan Weyer, said.

He told Sapa they were still unsure of what had caused the death of the female white rhino and an autopsy would be done on Wednesday afternoon.

The rhino, whose age was unclear, was killed on Tuesday night and found by rangers on Wednesday morning.

“We have accounted for most of the other rhinos at this stage… the weather is not great today so we were unable to send out the chopper.”

He said the area where the rhino was found was still cordoned off and all necessary agencies were there to investigate.

No arrests had been made.

He said all the private reserves in the area were part of an anti-poaching organisation, but animals were still being poached.

“Sadly it’s one of those things, it’s very sad.”

He said the reserve was continually evaluating its security and it was an ongoing process.

Even though this was the reserve’s first rhino lost to poaching, management “was very sad”, Weyer said.

http://www.timeslive.co.za