Poachers kill pregnant Limpopo rhino - leave horn

A rhino bull and a pregnant cow were shot and killed on a Limpopo farm in the Bandelierskop district over the weekend.

Desiree Vermaas, the farm owner, said the rhino cow would have given birth in August according to Beeld.

She and her husband Werner dehorned both rhinos in 2011 to protect them from poachers, and although the female's horn had started growing again, the poachers had made no effort to cut it off, Vermaas said.

"So, one could say that she died for nothing."

The two animals were both killed with a single shot. Vermaas said she suspected the poachers were professionals, who knew exactly what they were doing.

She and her husband had planned to move the animals to a farm with better security next month, for their own protection.

The water and environmental affairs department this month said more than 80 rhinos had been poached since January 1.