African rhino injures poacher in rare reversal of fortunes

Trimmed rhino horns are seen in the back of a pick-up truck after being weighed, measured and marked, at the ranch of rhino breeder John Hume, on October 16, 2017 in the North West Province of South Africa. John Hume is currently the owner of around 1500 white and black rhinos, which he keeps under armed guard on his 8000 hectare property. In a bid to prevent poaching and conserve the different species of rhino, the horns of the animals are regularly trimmed, with 264 of the off-cuts recently being placed on sale at auction.

A rhino turned the tables on a suspected poacher in Namibia, charging and injuring the man while he was allegedly tracking it.

The Namibian newspaper reported last week that the incident happened in Etosha National Park after suspect Luteni Muharukua and other alleged poachers illegally entered the wildlife area in hopes of killing rhinos for their horns.

The newspaper says the rhino “appeared from nowhere” and quotes Simson Shilongo, a police officer, as saying the rhino inflicted a severe leg injury on Muharukua after he fell while fleeing.

Shilongo says the suspect’s friends found refuge for him on a nearby mountain and police arrested him there on Oct. 15, a day after he was injured. Muharukua is being treated at a hospital under police guard.