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A team from the Hawks has started the probe into the poaching of four rhinos at Lalibela Game Reserve near Grahamstown.
The carcasses of the four animals were found on Wednesday morning by rangers out on a game drive.
"What we can say at this stage is that there are no visible bullet wounds on any of the rhino and it is likely that they were poisoned. Samples have been sent for analysis and we will be able to confirm this once the results have been received from the laboratory," the reserve said on its website.
Hawks spokesperson, colonel Macintosh Polela, admits that the scourge of rhino poaching is getting worse.
"It seems the syndicates are working on killing the rhino are doing more damage at the moment and we have to up our efforts to try and bring down the numbers or deal with the problem," he said.
Last week the Department of Environmental Affairs said the number of rhino poached for the year stands at 388 (excluding recent incidents in KZN and EC), with Kruger National Park having lost 241 rhino since the beginning of the year.
Limpopo, North-West and KwaZulu-Natal continue to be targeted by poachers.
