A rhino that has been dehorned in an effort to deter poaching lies on the ground, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Pilanesberg Game Reserve in North West Province, South Africa, May 12, 2020. Picture taken May 12, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
PILANESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa has dehorned dozens of rhinos in three popular game parks, aiming to prevent armed poachers taking advantage of the post-COVID-19 crash in tourism to kill them for their horns.
The exercise in Pilanesburg National Park and the Mafikeng and Botsalano game reserves -- all northwest of Johannesburg -- leaves the rhinos with horn rumps too small for poachers to bother with, Nico Jacobs, helicopter pilot and founding member of non-profit Rhino 911 told Reuters.
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