A report‚ published on their Facebook page‚ says that Maxine was killed in the early hours of Wednesday morning by poachers.
“According to the veterinary surgeon‚ who examined her yesterday morning‚ she was killed instantly by a bullet to the head while she was asleep‚ so the one blessing is that she didn’t suffer when they removed her horn‚” the statement said.
“We are so sad and in shock‚ and will do everything possible to find the culprits responsible for this heinous crime.”
The Natal Lion Park offers a one-hour self-drive on a circular road and has a range of animals from lions to elephants‚ buck and zebra.
Maxine was the park's only rhino.
The park is owned by circus entrepreneur Brian Boswell.
Boswell and his properties‚ which include the Natal Lion Park and the Natal Zoological Gardens‚ have been the focus of animal activists over the past few years. The latest incident involves Opal‚ an Orangutan‚ who has been caged alone in a concrete enclosure for the past 36 years. Petitions have been circulated demanding she be rehoused.
- TimesLIVE
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