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Western Cape. — The Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve is offering a R100 000 reward to anyone who has information that will lead to the successful arrest of those who killed four rhinos and injured one on Wednesday.

According to the game reserve, the 24 hour Anti-Poaching Unit raised the alarm when they found four shot rhino, including a pregnant female while on their regular patrols around 22:30.

“The initial scene assessment found that two rhinos had already succumbed to their injuries, while the remaining two, although still alive, were heavily injured,” Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve owner Searl Derman said in a statement yesterday.

Upon realising that a fifth rhino was missing, the team and tracking operations were immediately activated on the 10 000 hectare private game reserve while the management, conservation teams, wildlife veterinarians, law enforcement and others were notified and dispatched to the scene.

Large calibre rifle rounds from weapons with silencers were allegedly identified on the scene and patrols were intensified to protect against the heavily armed perpetrators.

“Sadly the Anti-Poaching Unit soon confirmed the death of the two injured rhinos. According to management, one of the killed females was pregnant,” the reserve added.

At approximately 02:00 on yesterday, the team found the fifth injured female rhino. She was shot in the face, injured, but still alive.

Derman said he was horrified to relive this nightmare.

“What they are doing is sad and emotional” — poachers use snares to trap animals in Kruger Park

“As with our previous poaching incident at Aquila Private Game Reserve in 2011, we will again commit to sparing no expense or effort in the pursuit to catch and bring justice to these vicious perpetrators who massacred our rhino.”

“We are starting by offering a R100 000 reward for confidential information that will lead to the successful arrest of the criminals that brought much heartache and loss to the staff and management of this unique Western Cape private game reserve,” Derman added.

The group said that this nightmare comes at a time when the tourism industry and the private game lodges of South Africa were already throttled by continued international travel bans.

“The industry is obliterated and many private game reserves have gone insolvent, culled wildlife, reduced staff and other resources to extend their lifeline as the pandemic continues to create havoc.”

After the 2011 rhino poaching incident at Aquila Private Game Reserve, the company initiated the Saving Private Rhino NGO and acquired the oldest gun shop in  Cape Town.

“We can assure you that we have already instituted a private forensic investigative team and private investigators on a local, regional and national level and we will vigorously pursue these poachers,” said Derman. — News24.