KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 20 (UPI) -- Some of the 25 remaining northern white rhinoceros have been shot and killed by poachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Telegraph said Thursday.
Dr. Kes Hillman-Smith was the coordinator of the Garamba national park project for 20 years but now lives in Nairobi because of fears for her security. She said the latest poachers were Sudanese horsemen said to be from the area of conflict around Darfur.
The northern white rhino is genetically distinct from the population of white rhinos in southern Africa. There was once a large population in Uganda, but it was wiped out under former dictator Idi Amin.
A thousand elephants out of a population of around 7,000 have been poached, Hillman-Smith said. Two dead rhinos and 12 dead elephants were found last month.
"I can't say how many rhinos are alive or dead at the moment, but I'm pretty worried," Hillman-Smith said.
