- On average, 96 African elephants are killed each day for their ivory.
- In the last decade, poaching claimed 8,889 African rhinos. The rhino poaching crisis began in 2008, with increasing numbers of rhinos killed for their horns throughout Africa. Since the 2015 peak of 1,349, rhino poaching appears to be decreasing.
- Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world with one taken from the wild by poachers every five minutes. On the black-market pangolin scales (considered to have healing qualities by traditional Chinese medicine) are valued at about R3000 or US$200 / kg; pangolin meat at R300 or US$20 /kg and live pangolins at R14800 or US$992.
Zoonosis -- transmission of infectious diseases from animals to humans. Poached, trafficked, and mistreated pangolins are suspected vectors of transmission of the current Covid 19 pandemic.**
I've never seen a live pangolin (aka anteaters). It's been years since I've seen an elephant or a rhino in a semi-natural environment like world-renowned Kruger Park. But I regularly see zebras, impala, blesbok, warthog, and Egyptian geese, guinea fowl, woolly-necked storks, ibis, and bishops. This, because, when is South Africa, I swim in the pool of local retirement estate that hosts these animals in their extensive grounds. It is wonderful, though disorienting, to see a small herd of zebra or a flock of guinea fowl through the windows of the indoor pool after swimming laps. I also walk the grounds and recent photographs highlight these beautiful creatures. As I come upon them, grazing the grounds, I ponder existential threats.
Blesbok are among the top three species of antelope most hunted in South Africa. They are being bred extensively on private game farms since their meat is sought after by local and foreign hunters.
Impala are poached along the outskirts and even within protected areas combined with the agro-pastoral development, is threatening stable populations. (See photos.)
Note: in South Africa, a "bok" or "buck" is the generic term for what in the United States is a "deer."
Warthogs are hunted for their ivory tusks and for their meat. Since they will also eat crops and carry diseases such as swine fever that can be passed onto domestic animals, farmers often persecute their beasts. (See photos.)
Zebras are primarily hunted for their striking skins, but will occasionally be killed for food and, in some regions, medicinal uses continue. (See photos)
See Photo Album.
** The pangolin might be out of the running zoonosis sweepstakes - no one knows ... yet.
