Wouldn't poachers still follow regardless of where they are relocated to? And aren't the funds allocated to moving the rhinos better used to pay for more rangers with better equipment to protect the rhinos in Kruger? BBC News - S Africa rhinos to be evacuated from Kruger National Park
It rather sounds like the "evacuation from poachers" angle is being overplayed and really the main point of the move is to build new populations elsewhere, to allow the overall population to grow, predominantly in places where rhino poaching is low. The reason Kruger is so targeted by poachers is because it has a huge concentration of rhinos (relative to elsewhere), so new populations at low numbers/densities will be generally harder for poachers to get. I'm not sure how close to carrying capacity Kruger is either, I know its huge but 8,400+ rhinos seems like a lot.
it is also worth noting that 300km of the eastern boundary of the park is actually the international border. "This makes it easier for such criminals to elude the arm of the law by escaping into the neighbouring countries." Kruger Park News | Shocking rise in rhino poaching | Online News Publication
Sounds like a bit of sensationalism then, but still a complex and costly operation fraught with risks and dodgy logic. Like why relocate to closer to Mozambique? I thought that was the porous border!!
