South African National parks (SANparks) spokesperson Reynold Thakhuli confirmed a white rhino and a black rhino, both adults were found poached in the Tshokwane Section of the KNP.
Both rhino were shot and four horns were removed, but in a gruesome unusual twist, the black rhino also had both his eyes removed.
Thakhuli said it is unusual to find poached rhino who have had their eyes removed, but the belief is that it gives poachers supernatural power.
“The belief is, if the eyes are removed, the poachers become invisible and won’t be found by authorities,” said Thakhuli.
He added that there are a numbers of strange methods used by poachers, mentioning that in a number of cases, poached rhino’s front feet were cut off.
“They cut the front feet off so if the rhino wakes up, it cannot move.”
SANparks authorities said the two rhino were poached sometime last week and were still trying to ascertain the exact date, but authorities were busy following leads as well as tracking the poachers’ footprints.
This brings the latest figures of rhino poached to 823 in 2014, with 533 of those from KNP.
In all, 251 rhino-poaching related arrests have been made this year, 10 of those, were allegedly part of a ruthless rhino poaching syndicate that slaughtered over 22 rhino during 2008-2009.
The syndicate faces 318 charges from poaching of rhino to racketeering.
via Citizen
