Poaching crisis: Botswana moves all rhinos out of Okavango Delta!
According to a media statement by Dr Kabelo J. Senyatso, the director at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Botswana's Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Botswana has lost 99 rhinos to poaching activities between 2010 and 2020.
97 of the 99 rhinos got illegally killed by poachers between 2018 and 2020 (2018: 5; 2019: 30; 2020: 62), while the remaining two animals were poached in 2013 and 2016 respectivley. Due to surge in poaching, the Government of Botswana has decided to move all rhinos out of the Okavango Delta into sanctuaries around Botswana. This environment is expected to allow for conservation and rapid propagation of the species under a secure and smaller area.
Over the next years, the animals from the sanctuary will be used to re-populate other areas in Botswana, including the Okavango Delta.
