Alexandria, Eastern Cape - In a deeply tragic and senseless act of violence, a pregnant rhino has been brutally shot and dehorned by poachers near Alexandria, sending shockwaves through South Africa’s conservation community. The discovery, confirmed by local wildlife rangers, marks one of the most distressing poaching incidents the region has seen in months.
Melt Heyneke, speaking on behalf of Buwiri (Bushmans Wildlife Reserve), said the carcass of the white rhino had been discovered in the reserve.
"We have been here a while and have not had such an experience until now, so it was very upsetting.
"She was pregnant and we were expecting her to calve between December and April, so it was very emotional to see her like that. She was shot and dehorned."
Heyneke said his team were hoping to gradually grow the Buwiri operation.
"There are so many positives coming out from what we are doing, and being part of the Bushman's River Biodiversity Corridor, so we won't let this discourage us."
The aim of the corridor is to link the Great Fish River Nature Reserve through Kariega, Lalibela and Shamwari private game reserves and eventually the Addo Elephant National Park as well.
Wildlife vet and prominent Eastern Cape-based rhino antipoaching campaigner Dr William Fowlds said the Buwiri incident was disturbing.
"Poaching had quietened down somewhat, so this incident is a gruesome reminder that the killing has not stopped.
"All we can do is to maintain pressure from the law enforcement side and continue to support all rhino awareness and conservation projects.
"The Buwiri rhino poaching incident is the second in the province in 2025, with the first having taken place in the Great Fish River Nature Reserve earlier in the year.
"We call on people to be vigilant and if they see suspicious individuals being dropped off or picked up in remote areas, or any other unexplained activity, to please report it to their nearest police station."
According to a March 2025 report from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment, no rhinos were poached in the Eastern Cape in 2022, 17 in 2023 and four in 2024.
The figures are contained in an August report by the Africa and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups, the International Wildlife Trade Monitoring Group Traffic and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature(IUCN).
"The report shows black rhino numbers have risen slightly, so that's good news, but that white rhino numbers have declined, and that is very worrying," Dr William Fowlds said.
A Traffic summary of the report revealed that poaching accounted for the loss of just 2.15% of Africa's total rhino population in 2024, the lowest rate recorded since 2011. But despite that progress, Africa's overall rhino population declined by 6.7%, down to an estimated 22,540 animals.
The decline was driven primarily by a sharp drop in white rhino numbers, which fell by more than 11% to their lowest numbers since 2007, due to a combination of factors, includ ing increased poaching pressure, extended droughts and management limitations. In con trast, the population of critically endangered black rhinos grew by 5.2%.
In early 2025, South Africa, home to most of the world's rhinos, recorded a rise in poaching, with at least 91 rhinos killed in the first quarter alone, many in privately managed reserves.
