Late February in South Africa, two poachers broke into the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage, held the staff captive, and brutally shot two 18-month-old white rhinos just before viciously sawing off their horns. They fled the scene, leaving one rhino dead from a fatal gunshot wound and the other severely incapacitated, later put to rest by the orphanage due to sustained injuries.
Karen Trendler, director of the orphanage, expressed her devastation on the account of the horrendous heist in an interview on Facebook Live, “As a rhino person whose rehabilitating rhinos in this poaching crisis, you think that your worst fear is that one of the rhinos that you’re working on is going to be shot or injured or killed. …That worst nightmare was realized … it’s just beyond comprehension.”
The ‘worst nightmare’ started just two hours before the fatality. The poachers first infiltrated the orphanage targeting the security guard and holding them hostage. They later gathered the rest of the team at gunpoint. The unarmed team was no match for the intruding poachers who threateningly waved guns in their faces.
Less than a week before the incident, both baby rhinos’ parents also fell victim to the gruesome reality of poaching in South Africa. One of the baby rhinos “stayed at his mother’s carcass for six days, moving away just a short distance to eat … because he was obviously very hungry and very thirsty,” before being rescued by the orphanage, said Trendler in an interview.
Shot, dehorned, and left for dead is the vicious cycle rhinos face due to the recent demand of rhino horns in Asian countries. According to Save the Rhino, in some Asian countries, like Vietnam, they use the horns for medicinal reasons and to reflect the success or social status of an individual.
As an attempt to save the animals’ lives, conservationist will often dehorn rhinos that are scheduled to be readmitted back into wildlife. Unfortunately, these two baby rhinos never had the chance to make it back home to the wild.

against ‘all’ abuse & cruelty, need stiffer laws & make them stick, want & deserve justice, no respect, not acceptable, ‘all’ this animal abuse breaks my heart, makes me sick & just isn’t fair to ‘our’ beloved animals
Each time, it breaks my heart — to think that these monster-idiots are roaming our planet with their sadistic, merciless, unconscionable, cruel, insane mindsets — WHEN WILL WE STOP THESE IMBECILE-MONSTERS!!!
Greetings from Costa Rica. When will this stop, you are killing an animal, you are erasing life from our planet earth. Better surveillance, shoot them if they go in a sanctuary, wildlife refuge or any other type. We are a deseace for this Planet, we better die because if human beings disappear, everything regenerates The air, mountains, oceans, land, air and animals…Why we have become like this, 2017 people! lets stop killing mother nature and its living creatures. we are nature!
With all of the electric technology that we have, you would think that these sanctuarys would put it to use.So sad to hear this.
If you could just stop obfuscating and name the real villains here – the Chinese – we might actually have a chance to prevent the demand for rhino horn from resulting in tragedies like this. Look at the rich for the worst atrocities and you’ll strike paydirt!! Stop blaming only Vietnam for what is a family greater and wider problem centered in Taiwan and China.
Absolutely heartbreaking!! : (( It’s so hard to comprehend how humans can harm precious animals. Those people are evil and have no soul. It makes me so sad and angry. Really disgusting and I hope karma bites them in a huge way!!
Hugs to those wonderful people at the rhino orphanage, because I know their hearts are broken, too. Bless you all and thanks for all you do.
Such a sad, tragic ending for these magnificent animals. Greed and ignorance triumph once again. Such a sad, sad day for our planet. A heartfelt thank you to all those at the sanctuary for having the hugest hearts and for protecting to the best of their ability our global treasures. If it were not for all of you, others would also not survive. Again, thank you & blessings.