For years, South Africa\u2019s wildlife has been under attack. Some of the country\u2019s most iconic species, including rhinos, elephants, and lions, are being systematically slaughtered by poachers, who are funded and supported by criminal gangs. These animals are killed for their parts \u2014 their horns and tusks and claws and bones \u2014 which are then sold on the global black market.<\/p>\n
Rhinos have been among the hardest hit animals, especially in Kruger National Park. The situation had become a national crisis by 2012, when 425 of the park\u2019s rhinos were poached, their horns chopped off and the carcasses left to rot. (Around 75 percent of that population has been lost to poaching since 2011.) This ongoing bloodshed required the country to take \u201ca bold step,\u201d says Gen. Johan Jooste, a former South African army general who was appointed Chief Ranger at Kruger Park in late 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had no other options. The world was saying to South Africa, \u2018Look what is happening. You can\u2019t even protect your own wildlife.\u2019 And it was a bold step at the time,\u201d Jooste tells Outdoor Life in this week\u2019s podcast. \u201cIt was also an intervention of necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n