A white rhino was found dead with both horns removed in Ndumo on Wednesday, Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife says.

"The rhino had been caught in a cable snare that seemed to have been deliberately set for big game, such as hippo, buffalo or rhino, all of which frequent the area.

"Both horns had been removed," Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesman Jeff Gaisford said.

It was believed the rhino was trapped in the snare on Tuesday, but was only found on Wednesday morning by game rangers.

"This brings the total number of rhinos killed by poachers in KwaZulu-Natal this year to 15," Gaisford said.

The sex of the adult rhino was unknown and no arrests had been made.

Ndumo Game Reserve is on the Mozambique border in the north-western part of Maputaland in KwaZulu-Natal.