Namibia Records The Highest Rhino Hunting Record Of All Time, Moving 93 Percent

White Badak Wikipedia Commons Hein Waschefort

JAKARTA - The number of rhinos in danger of extinction being hunted in Namibia reached its highest all-time figure last year, after 87 animals were killed compared to 45 in 2021, according to official government data.

The population of African rhinos has continued to decline over the past few decades, as demand for rhino horn, which, although made of the same material as rhino hair and nails, is priced in East Asia for medicine and jewelry.

Last month, spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Romeo Muyunda said poachers killed 61 black rhinos and 26 white rhinos, especially in Namibia's largest park, Etosha, where 46 rhinos were found dead.

"We note with serious concern that our flagship park, Etosha National Park, is a poaching hotspot," Muyunda said, as reported by Al Jazeera on January 31.

The ministry and law enforcement officials have stepped up efforts to fight wildlife crimes in the park, to curb poaching, he added.

The country in southern Africa is the only home for black rhinos to roam freely left in the world, also accounting for a third of the world's remaining black rhinos.

In addition, Namibia is also home to the world's second-largest white rhino population after South Africa.

It is known that rhino hunting has infected the south of Africa in recent decades, especially in neighboring South Africa and Botswana, leading to anti-poach programs, including strict surveillance and cual cutting, or revocation of horn from rhinos as a way to prevent poaching.

Save the Rhino Trust estimates there are about 200 black rhinos roaming freely in Namibia, especially in the northeast.

Meanwhile, elephant hunting in Namibia has declined for years, from 101 elephants in 2015 to the lowest with four elephants being hunted last year.