Africa's poaching crisis
A pair of elephants walk through scrub in the dusk light in Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa's North West Province April 19, 2012.
A pair of elephants walk through scrub in the dusk light in Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa's North West Province April 19, 2012.
The carcasses of some of the 22 elephants slaughtered in a helicopter-borne attack lie on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Garamba National Park, in this undated handout picture released by the DRC Military. A record number of big ivory seizures were made globally in 2011 and the trend looks set to continue in 2012 as elephant massacres take place from Congo to Cameroon, where as many as 200 of the pachyderms, listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as "vulnerable", were slain in January.
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Activists gather as they take part in a protest against Rhinoceros poaching outside the Chinese embassy in Pretoria, South Africa March 29, 2012. Four staff members at South Africa's flagship Kruger National Park have been arrested on suspicion of killing rhinos and selling their horns to criminal syndicates, the park service said on Wednesday.
Activists gather as they take part in a protest against Rhinoceros poaching outside the Chinese embassy in Pretoria, South Africa March 29, 2012. Four staff members at South Africa's flagship Kruger National Park have been arrested on suspicion of killing rhinos and selling their horns to criminal syndicates, the park service said on Wednesday.
A Kenya Wildlife Services ranger guards a shipment of elephant tusks during a commemoration of the 1989 ivory burning at the Nairobi National Park July 18, 2009.
A Kenya Wildlife Services ranger guards a shipment of elephant tusks during a commemoration of the 1989 ivory burning at the Nairobi National Park July 18, 2009.
Members of the Pilanesberg National Park Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) stand guard as conservationists and police investigate the scene of a rhino poaching incident in South Africa April 19, 2012.
Members of the Pilanesberg National Park Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) stand guard as conservationists and police investigate the scene of a rhino poaching incident in South Africa April 19, 2012.
A Kenya Wildlife Services ranger shows elephant tusks intercepted from poachers during a commemoration of the 1989 ivory burning at the Nairobi National Park July 18, 2009.
A Kenya Wildlife Services ranger shows elephant tusks intercepted from poachers during a commemoration of the 1989 ivory burning at the Nairobi National Park July 18, 2009.
A White Rhino walks through scrub in the dusk light in Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa's North West Province April 19, 2012.
A White Rhino walks through scrub in the dusk light in Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa's North West Province April 19, 2012.
The carcass of a rhino is seen after it was killed for its horn by poachers at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province, South Africa September 14, 2011.
The carcass of a rhino is seen after it was killed for its horn by poachers at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province, South Africa September 14, 2011.
A warden stands guard as an illegal consignment of five tons of Ivory confiscated from smugglers is destroyed during the African Elephant Law Enforcement Day in Tsavo West National Park, 380 km (236 miles) east of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi July 20, 2011. The confiscated consignment, recovered from smugglers in Singapore in 2002, originated from poaching activities in both Zambia and Malawi, government officials said.
A warden stands guard as an illegal consignment of five tons of Ivory confiscated from smugglers is destroyed during the African Elephant Law Enforcement Day in Tsavo West National Park, 380 km (236 miles) east of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi July 20, 2011. The confiscated consignment, recovered from smugglers in Singapore in 2002, originated from poaching activities in both Zambia and Malawi, government officials said.
Dehorned rhinos are seen at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province September 16, 2011.
Dehorned rhinos are seen at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province September 16, 2011.
A rhinoceros undergoes a dehorning procedure by a veterinary surgeon to prevent poaching at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province September 16, 2011.
A rhinoceros undergoes a dehorning procedure by a veterinary surgeon to prevent poaching at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province September 16, 2011.
A ranger shows part of a rhino horn after a rhino was dehorned by a veterinary surgeon to prevent poaching at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province September 16, 2011.
A ranger shows part of a rhino horn after a rhino was dehorned by a veterinary surgeon to prevent poaching at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province September 16, 2011.
An illegal consignment of five tons of Ivory confiscated from smugglers is destroyed during the African Elephant Law Enforcement Day in Tsavo West National Park, 380 km (236 miles) east of capital Nairobi July 20, 2011.
An illegal consignment of five tons of Ivory confiscated from smugglers is destroyed during the African Elephant Law Enforcement Day in Tsavo West National Park, 380 km (236 miles) east of capital Nairobi July 20, 2011.
Photo By REUTERS/Noor Khamis