Overall rhino-poaching figures in South Africa have shown a decline of 16% in 2025 compared to 2024. Rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal declined from 232 in 2024 to 97 in 2025, while numbers in Limpopo decreased from 59 in 2024 to 36 in 2025.
Despite the overall decline in rhino poaching in the country, it has nearly doubled in the Kruger Park.
In Mpumalanga, excluding the Kruger National Park, three rhinos were lost in 2025, down from four in 2024 and seven in 2023.
Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Willie Aucamp, attributes the decline to dedication and tactical, swift coordination.
“From January to December 2025, 352 rhinos were poached in South Africa, with 266 being killed on state properties and 86 in privately owned parks, reserves or farms. This was a decrease of 68 in comparison to 420 rhinos poached in 2024,” he says.
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“Working together with anti-poaching and anti-trafficking organisations, we remain committed to a balanced, intelligence-driven and partnership-based approach to rhino protection, recognising that sustained success requires constant adaptation, integrity and cooperation across all sectors,” said Minister Aucamp.
Aucamp says the Kruger National Park continues to implement its rhino conservation plan, including holistic integrity management, strategic dehorning, layered security, and the use of technology, ranger skills development and increased ranger capacity.
Polygraph testing of staff is continuing at the Kruger National Park and to date investigations that have flowed from these polygraphs resulted in the dismissal of seven employees of ranger services.
The Kruger National Park is also in the process of recruiting additional field rangers through a dedicated pre-selection, selection and basic field-ranger training process which will commence this month.
The Park has further bolstered the capacity of its dog unit with the introduction of an additional 12 dogs and the training and accreditation of 11 new dog handlers.
The Kruger National Park has also made a significant investment into various technologies to support its anti-poaching efforts.
Members of the public can report any suspicious activities around wildlife to its environmental crime hotline 0800 205 005 or the SAPS number 10111.
