A forensics team searches the area around the body of a poached rhino looking for clues. The rhino was shot along Kruger National Park's border with Mozambique. The investigators have had such a backlog of rhino poaching cases that it has taken them 10 days to get to this one.
Relocating Kruger National Park's rhinos —
A forensics team searches the area around the body of a poached rhino looking for clues. The rhino was shot along Kruger National Park's border with Mozambique. The investigators have had such a backlog of rhino poaching cases that it has taken them 10 days to get to this one.
Brent Swails/CNN
Environmental Crime Investigation Inspector Frikkie Rossouw uses a metal detector to search for the bullet used by poachers. He and his team later discovered that the dead rhino was a pregnant female. The fetus, like the rest of her, long picked away by scavengers.
Relocating Kruger National Park's rhinos —
Environmental Crime Investigation Inspector Frikkie Rossouw uses a metal detector to search for the bullet used by poachers. He and his team later discovered that the dead rhino was a pregnant female. The fetus, like the rest of her, long picked away by scavengers.
Brent Swails/CNN
The rhino is slaughtered for a horn that for millennia has been its first line of defense. The poaching is fueled by an insatiable demand in Asia, where the horn is believed to have medicinal value -- though there is no scientific evidence for this -- and is prized as a sign of wealth. It is made of keratin, the same protein found in human fingernails.
Relocating Kruger National Park's rhinos —
The rhino is slaughtered for a horn that for millennia has been its first line of defense. The poaching is fueled by an insatiable demand in Asia, where the horn is believed to have medicinal value -- though there is no scientific evidence for this -- and is prized as a sign of wealth. It is made of keratin, the same protein found in human fingernails.
Brent Swails/CNN
South African vets are experts in the field of relocation and techniques like oxygen to assist breathing are now standard practice during all procedures. "This is exactly what we've been doing for the last 30 years," said Markus Hofmeyr, head of veterinary services at Kruger National Park.
Relocating Kruger National Park's rhinos —
South African vets are experts in the field of relocation and techniques like oxygen to assist breathing are now standard practice during all procedures. "This is exactly what we've been doing for the last 30 years," said Markus Hofmeyr, head of veterinary services at Kruger National Park.
Brent Swails/CNN
Vets work quickly to gather blood samples. Relocations are carried out early in the morning, before the sun gets too hot, to ensure the animal's safety. During the relocation, the horn is microchipped and crucially for South Africa's anti-poaching endeavors, DNA samples are taken.
Relocating Kruger National Park's rhinos —
Vets work quickly to gather blood samples. Relocations are carried out early in the morning, before the sun gets too hot, to ensure the animal's safety. During the relocation, the horn is microchipped and crucially for South Africa's anti-poaching endeavors, DNA samples are taken.
Brent Swails/CNN
Kruger National Park's Wildlife Veterinary Team slowly brings a captured rhino to its feet. This rhino is headed from a poaching hotspot along the Mozambique border to a newly-established "intensive protection zone" deeper inside the park.
Relocating Kruger National Park's rhinos —
Kruger National Park's Wildlife Veterinary Team slowly brings a captured rhino to its feet. This rhino is headed from a poaching hotspot along the Mozambique border to a newly-established "intensive protection zone" deeper inside the park.
Brent Swails/CNN
Relocations like this one are a key part of a protection plan which has taken on even greater urgency since the country's environmental minister announced a record 1,020 of South Africa's rhinos have been poached in 2014.
Relocating Kruger National Park's rhinos —
Relocations like this one are a key part of a protection plan which has taken on even greater urgency since the country's environmental minister announced a record 1,020 of South Africa's rhinos have been poached in 2014.
Brent Swails/CNN