Poachers killed over 100 rhinos in South Africa in the first three months of 2025, according to South African Environment Minister Dion George.
From Jan. 1 to March 31, 103 rhinos were killed, and 65 of those were poached in South African national parks, George said in a statement on Monday, May 5.
“The loss of 103 rhinos to poaching in the first three months of 2025 is a stark reminder of the relentless threat to our wildlife,” George said, before noting that some progress has been made. “Yet, the absence of poaching in four provinces shows that our targeted interventions are yielding results, and we must build on this progress.”
In 2024, 420 rhinos were lost, with an average of 35 rhinos killed per month versus the 2025 average of 34 per month. “In the last decade, poachers have killed almost 10,000 rhinos across Africa to feed the demand for horn on the black market,” the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports.
South Africa has the largest rhino population, with approximately 16,000 to 18,000 black and white rhinos in the country, according to conservation groups. Black rhinos are listed as critically endangered. Around 6,400 are left in all of Africa, and 2,000 of those are in South Africa, per the International Rhino Foundation.
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The International Rhino Foundation said that rhino horn is “a lucrative, illicit commodity sought after by well-established, organized and powerful transnational criminal syndicates.”
George’s May 5 announcement follows the 15 arrests and five prosecutions against people for rhino poaching and related offenses in South Africa. On April 30, one man from Mozambique, Nelson Sambo, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for rhino poaching and related offenses. Mozambique, which borders South Africa, is known to be a key transit and recruitment hub for poaching syndicates.
In August 2024, Mozambican poaching “kingpin” Simon Ernesto Valoi was sentenced to 27 years in prison, per the Wildlife Justice Commission. He was convicted of running an operation poaching rhinos in South Africa’s huge Kruger National Park — which borders Mozambique.
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