Kruger National Park Rangers Kill Alleged Poacher, Arrest 1, While a Third Escapes

• An alleged poacher was gunned down at the Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga, and his accomplice was arrested on 14 June 2025
• The rangers of the Kruger National Park were patrolling when they saw three men walking near the Ngotso dam
• The men were ordered to stop, and they opened fire at the rangers, resulting in a gunfight where one of them was fatally wounded and the other was injured

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered a range of criminal activities, including cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts, and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, MPUMALANGA — An alleged poacher was shot and killed, another was arrested, and a third escaped at the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga on 14 June 2025 after a gunfight with the rangers during a patrol.

Rangers encounter alleged poachers

According to The South African, a group of rangers were patrolling the Satara area when they saw three men, suspected to be illegal Mozambican immigrants, walking by the Ngotso Dam. Two of them were carrying backpacks, and another was armed with a firearm.

When the rangers called out to them to stop and drop the weapon, the armed suspect started shooting at the rangers. A gunfight ensued, and one of the suspects was fatally wounded while the second was shot and injured.

The other suspect fled the scene. The surviving suspected poacher was taken to a nearby hospital. He was charged with attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and trespassing.

Zeph Mkhwanazi issues warning

The Mpumalanga provincial commissioner, General Zeph Mkhwanazi, said the Kruger National Park is a part of South Africa's heritage, and the police will not allow its destruction. He welcomed the arrest and said the police and rangers will continue to work in tandem to keep Kruger National Park safe.

Poaching stats

According to Save the Rhino International, 424 rhinos were poached and killed in 2024. This was a 15% decrease compared to the previous year. KwaZulu-Natal remains one of the hardest-hit provinces in poaching. Most of the rhinos were killed on state properties.

Poaching in South Africa

South Africans were surprised when five men were arrested on 27 June 2024 after they were caught harvesting the endangered 424 Clavias Marebelius plant in the Northern Cape to the value of R2.7 million

• Two men found guilty of poaching rhinos' horns to the value of R2.9 million were sentenced to 15 years in prison on 16 July 2024
• South African innovators have deployed the use of artificial intelligence to combat poaching, and said that collaboration with conservationists and local authorities is necessary to tackle poaching

Orphaned calf undergoes life-saving surgery

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a rhino calf underwent life-saving surgery at the University of Pretoria Vet Hospital in November. Doctors at the Faculty of Veterinary Science's Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital worked to save Binti, a 125-kilogram rhino who suffered from abdominal pain.

Binti was rushed to the hospital at the University of Pretoria after she refused to drink milk. They found that she had thickened and swollen loops of small intestines, and they performed the surgery, which saved her life.

Source: Briefly News