The rhino with tears in his eyes: Heartbreaking images show a 4,500lb Southern White rhino ‘weeping in pain’ after poachers hacked off his horn and removed part of the bone in his skull in South African game reserve
- Southern White Rhino can be seen with tears running down his face as he lays his head on the ground
- The male rhino was saved by the charity Saving the Survivors and he is kept on a reserve in South Africa
- Images show the rhino’s skill is exposed behind the bloodied hole where the horn was removed by poachers
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Heartbreaking images show a dehorned rhino with tears running down its face at a South African charity reserve.
The 4,500 pound Southern White rhino was attacked by poachers who cut off his horn and removed parts of the bone in his skull.
The male rhino can be seen laying its head on the ground as it appears to weep in pain, with dried tear marks running down one eye, at the charity Saving the Survivor’s reserve in North West Province in South Africa.
The extent of the rhino’s injuries are clearly visible in the images – as the rhino’s skull is exposed behind the bloodied hole where the horn was removed by poachers.
Saving the Survivors are a team of wildlife vets whose mission is to face animals who has fallen victim to poaching or traumatic incidents.
The male rhino can be seen laying its head on the ground as it appears to weep in pain, with dried tear marks running down one eye, at the charity Saving the Survivor’s reserve in North West Province in South Africa
The extent of the rhino’s injuries are clearly visible in the images – as the rhino’s skull is exposed behind the bloodied hole where the horn was removed by poachers
Photographer Simon Needham, 55, who pictured the rhino from just yards away, said: ‘I work with several wildlife charities in South Africa.
‘When I heard about Saving The Survivors within the community and after hearing what they do I offered my time to photograph the rhino to help promote their need to raise money.’
Speaking about the male rhino, Simon explained: ‘Poachers butchered the rhino’s horns and removed parts of the bone in his skull as well.
‘The owners of the game reserve left him for dead for two weeks as he wasn’t worth a bullet to put him down, not without his horns.
‘The police noticed him and called Saving the Survivors to help him.
‘The owners gave him to Saving the Survivors as he was worthless to them. He was weak but had a strong will to survive.’
The 4,500 pound Southern White rhino was attacked by poachers who cut off his horn and removed parts of the bone in his skull
Saving the Survivors, who saved the rhino, are a team of wildlife vets whose mission is to face animals who has fallen victim to poaching or traumatic incidents
Simon said he spent time with the rhino to make him feel comfortable and approached him with great care.
He said: ‘I spent around to hours with the rhino, the majority of which was spent making him feel comfortable with my presence.
‘As you can imagine he is still working through a lot of medical issues and therefore shouldn’t be approached without great care.
‘I kept my distance and at the closest point was around eight metres from him.’
South Africa holds the majority of the world’s rhinos numbering over 2,000 and has been the country hit hardest by poaching criminals, with more than 1,000 rhinos killed each year between 2013 and 2017.
There were 394 recorded poaching incidents in South Africa in 2020, poaching numbers have declined significantly in recent years, but are still too high.
The rhino can be seen without his horn as he eats at a charity reserve in North West Province in South Africa
However, this positive – and very welcome – decrease does not mean rhinos are now thriving. On average in the country, a rhino is killed for its horn every 22 hours.
And, the latest numbers show that rhino populations, particularly in key strongholds such as Kruger National Park, in South Africa, have fallen dramatically.
Rhino populations have had no time to recover from ruthless poaching that’s taken place throughout the last decade.
‘It’s devastating to see animals abused this way by humans for profit,’ said Simon.
‘I just wanted to capture some clear, honest and factual shots of the tragedy going on in Africa in regards to poaching.
‘It’s sad people can’t believe we still do this to animals in this day and age. Until humans stop wanting rhino horn this will go on and on.
‘The world’s wildlife population is under heavy attack from the human population and the plight of these intelligent, emotional, sentient beings needs to be highlighted and the wildlife protected.’
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