Rhino poaching in Namibia increased dramatically last year, with nearly twice as many critically endangered animals killed as the year before, the country’s environment ministry says.
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism released figures on Monday showing that 87 rhinos were poached in 2022, up from 45 in 2021.
It was “a serious concern,” the ministry said.
Of the 87 rhinos poached last year, 61 were black rhinos and 26 were white rhinos, the ministry said. And 46 of those rhinos were poached in Etosha National Park, Namibia’s main game reserve.
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Poaching of endangered rhinos nearly doubled to 87 in Namibia in 2022 compared to the previous year in the country. Black and white rhinos are only found in the African wilderness.
(FoxNews)
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Namibia has more than a third of the world’s black rhinos, and Etosha National Park is home to the largest black rhino population, according to Save The Rhino.
Save The Rhino estimates there are approximately 6,000 black rhinos and around 15,000 white rhinos left. Those two species are only found in the wild in Africa.
Conservation groups have warned that the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could undermine efforts to stop poaching.
