This photo taken Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 shows some of the recaptured crocodiles back safely on the farm they escaped from, at Pontdrif, South Africa, near the Botswana border. About 7,000 of the creatures escaped when the gates on a dam were opened this week to alleviate pressure created by rising flood waters. About 2,000 had been recaptured Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Video from the scene shows people hunting down the small-ish crocs at night, tying them up and taking them back to the Rakwena Crocodile Farm, in northern South Africa. The farm, which didn't respond to an email or calls seeking comment, used to hold 15,000 crocodiles (AP Photo) SOUTH AFRICA OUT
South Africa says 96 rhinos poached so far in 2013
Published: 12:02:57 PM, Wed 13 February 2013 UTC
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African authorities say at least 96 rhinoceros have been killed so far this year, as rampant poaching for their horns to sell to buyers in Asia continues.
South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs released the tally Wednesday. The statistics show the majority of the killings continue in the expansive Kruger National Park in South Africa's northeast.
From the 1990s to 2007, rhino killings in South Africa by poachers averaged about 15 a year. However, the number has soared as buyers in Asia now pay the U.S. street value of cocaine for rhino horn.
Rhino horn is made of keratin, a tough protein found in human fingernails. There's a belief in Asia that taking ground-up horn cures diseases. However, no medical evidence supports that.
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