Almost 500 rhinos poached this year

Pretoria - The number of rhinos that have been lost to poaching since the beginning of this year has risen to 488, the Department of Environmental Affairs says.

In a statement on Tuesday, the department said that the Kruger National Park had lost 296 rhinos to poaching, while Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the North West had collectively lost 158 rhinos.

Last year 449 rhino were killed in South Africa, and in 2010, 333 rhinos were lost to these illegal killings.

Members of the public are urged to report incidents of rhino poaching or any tip-offs that could lead to arrests and prevention of illegal killings to 0800 205 005. - SAnews.gov.za