Rhino Miraculously Survives Chainsaw Attack by Poachers in South Africa

From bushwarriors

In a horrifying testament to the brutality of the illegal rhino horn trade, a vicious attack by poachers in a South African reserve has robbed a female rhino of her horns, her sense of smell, her one-month-old calf, and her ability to communicate with other rhinos.

Poachers reportedly used a chainsaw to brutally cut away the rhino’s horns after darting her with a tranquilizer in Tugela Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, between Ladysmith and Colenso.

The blades cut so deep into the rhino’s skull that her horns will never grow back, leaving her permanently disfigured and without her sense of smell, which is the rhino’s main method of communicating with one another.

Because she was unable to smell, the rhino could not locate her helpless one-month-old calf, who was later found dead.

Illegal rhino horn destined for China and Vietnam

A recent report by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC revealed that most illegal rhino horn leaving southern Africa is destined for consumer markets in China and Vietnam, where traditional Chinese medicine containing rhino horn has been used for thousands of years to treat an assortment of ailments, from fevers to boils – and even devil possession.

However, overwhelming scientific evidence has confirmed that rhino horn actually contains no medicinal properties, as demonstrated by world-renowned rhino horn expert Dr. Raj Amin in the following video: