A new procedure meant to stop the illegal poaching of endangered Rhino’s ended in tragedy on Thursday when a sedated rhinoceros died in front of a group of stunned journalists.

Veterinarians sedated the animal so they could implant a tracking device in the Rhino’s horn and then inject it with dye and a pesticide that would make the horn toxic to humans.

Charles van Niekerk, the vet who developed the procedure and was performing the procedure told the Globe and Mail:

“It’s a tragedy, it’s a disaster.”

The rhino that passed away was named Spencer and according to the vet he was relatively old. It’s still not clear exactly what led to the animals death but a postmortem examination will be completed to determine if a heart condition may have been to blame.

According to Van Niekerk this is the first time a rhino has died during the procedure, although placing such a large animal under sedation is always a risk.

An increase in poaching in South Africa has led to desperate measures being taken to protect the failing Rhino population including the experimental procedure being demonstrated during the rhinoceros’ death.

While the event was tragic researchers, including Charles van Niekerk, plan to continue the procedure in order to make the practice of poaching dangerous to humans and therefore no longer profitable.

Do you think there are better methods available for stopping Rhino poachers or do drastic measures need to be taken when there’s still a population left to protect?

Anti-Poaching Demonstration Leads To Dead Rhino is a post from: The Inquisitr

The South African area of Port St John’s houses Second Beach often called the most dangerous swimming destination in the world because of shark attacks and now another Second Beach victim has been claimed by shark attack, the sixth such death in as many years.

The yet-t0-be-named 25-year old man was attacked on Saturday afternoon while wading in waist-deep water. The swimmer was with friends when the shark struck, severing one arm and causing deep wounds to the man’s check and stomach.

Lifeguards quickly pulled the man to shore but the extent of his injuries caused him to bleed out as he was strewn across the sand.

World’s Most Dangerous Beach Leaves Another Swimmer Dead By Shark Attack is a post from: The Inquisitr

According to local authorities, a car carrying four passengers attempted to over take another car on a highway in the Free State when it collided head on with an oncoming minibus taxi.

“Some of the people were burned beyond recognition after the impact,” Sergeant Mmako Mophiring is quoted as saying.

All four occupants from the car and fifteen from the taxi died on the scene while nine others were transported to nearby hospitals.

The names of those who died have not been released yet.

On Monday, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) listed reckless overtaking as one of the main causes behind the over 800 deaths that have occurred on South African roads since December 1.

“Major contributory factors remain speeds too high for circumstances, especially at night and during inclement weather, drinking and driving, drinking and walking and dangerous overtaking on barrier lines in the face of coming traffic,” said RTMC spokesperson Ashref Ismail at the time.

Ismail added that road accident deaths are twice as high in South Africa as the global average.

via ABC

Minibus Taxi Crash in South Africa Leaves 19 Dead is a post from: The Inquisitr

Many people told South African farmer Marius Els that he couldn’t possible domesticate a Hippopotamus but the 40-year-old army major wouldn’t take their word for it and now he has been killed by his “hippo son.”

The man’s 6-year-old wild “pet” hippo (which he as been raising since 5-months-old) was considered a part of the family and weighed in at 2,600 pounds.

Els was so close to the hippo that he would ride on it’s back, feed it and pet it. It was during a ride on his pets back that Els was grabbed by the wild animal and dragged into the water where he drowned.

In an earlier interview Els said of his pet:

“Humphrey’s like a son to me, he’s just like a human.”

Els would later add:

“There’s a relationship between me and Humphrey and that’s what some people don’t understand … They think you can only have a relationship with dogs, cats and domestic animals. But I have a relationship with the most dangerous animal in Africa.”

While Marius called his hippopotamus a “gentle giant” Humphrey was known to cause issues, including one incident in which he chased a grandfather and grandson into the trees while they were canoeing. Humphrey also broke out of his enclosure on several occasions and made his way to a local golf club where he would chase golfers around the course.

Here’s a video chronicling the Marius Els and Humphrey relationship:

There’s good reason the hippo is considered one of the most dangerous animals on the planet, this tragic event should serve as a reminder that wild animals should be given the respect they deserve.

Man Killed By “Hippo” Son During Piggyback Ride is a post from: The Inquisitr

An increasing demand for rhino horns which can fetch up to $50,000 per pound on the black market along with a dwindling number of the animals has led to a record number being killed in South Africa according to the World Wildlife Fund.

According to numbers released from South Africa National Parks 341 rhinos have been killed so far in 2011, up from the 333 Rhino’s killed in 2010 with two months left to go in the year.

According to the WWF the Rhino’s are being hunted at a record pace because their horns are used in traditional Vietnamese traditional medicine.

What makes the situation even more tragic is the fact that the darted Rhino’s are left to bleed to death after their horn has been removed.

The number of Rhino’s being hunted has become worrisome over the last six years, up until 2005 an average of just 36 rhino deaths were reported.

While law enforcement agencies have attempted to slow the death of Rhino’s in various areas they have been met with smuggling rings that are hard to track down.

According to the WWF South Africa has the largest population of Rhino’s in the world with 18,780 white rhinos and 1,916 black rhinos.

In the meantime South African officials are attempting to determine if the legalized trade of Rhino’s could potentially slow the practice of poaching. One argument raised is that it would push down the high cost paid for the horns of rhino’s making poaching a nearly worthless time-consuming practice.

In the meantime many people in Vietnam believe the horn can help cure cancer regardless of studies showing absolutely no truth to that belief.  The last known Javan Rhino in Vietnam was killed earlier this month.

Do you think more should be done to protect Rhino’s from poaching in South Africa?

[Image via Shutterstock]

Rhino’s In South Africa Being Killed In Record Numbers is a post from: The Inquisitr

Oprah Winfrey on Friday accepted an honorary degree from a central South African university that had turned itself around after race relations fell apart at the university in the past. According to Oprah the university had turned an ugly experience into a model in “confronting the challenges of reconciliation and remorse.”

Five years ago four white students at the university had made a humiliating video about black housekeeping staff where they were highlighted eating a stew the students had mimed they were peeing in.

In 2009 Jonathan Jansen became the university’s first black rector and asked that the four white students involved in the video be forgiven and rehabilitated.

Oprah Winfrey Receives South African Honorary Doctorate is a post from: The Inquisitr

Scientists have recently discovered a new species of nematodes (roundworms) living nearly a mile below the earth’s surface, a distance that was previously believed to be uninhabitable by any animal.

Aptly named worms from hell, the creatures were discovered in the Beatrix gold mine in South Africa by lead researchers Gaetan Borgonie of the University of Ghent in Belgium and Tullis Onstott of Princeton University.

“This is telling us something brand new,” said Onstott, “For a relatively complex creature like a nematode to penetrate that deep is simply remarkable.”

The scientific discovery of these worms from hell is guaranteed to stir up talk of extraterrestrial life, and more specifically the possibility that microbes could be living below the surface of Mars, a planet that was once warmer and better-protected by an atmosphere than it’s current cold condition.

Michael Meyer, lead scientist for Mars exploration at NASA, was not involved in the study but had this to say:

“Researchers have assumed that any subsurface life on a planet like Mars would be unicellular, this kinds of opens it up to, well, even multicellular life could be possible.”

Worms From Hell Unearthed is a post from: The Inquisitr

The good news is that it doesn’t stop the wonderful people of the internet from making even more annoying things with the vuvuzela.

Why not pick up “NOW! That’s what I call Vuvuzela” with such great hits as “Vuvuzela during the opening anthems” or “The Own-Goal Vuvuzela”. *Cough Denmark cough*

You could also browse the web as if you are in the middle of a South African stadium. Vuvuzela-time.co.uk has created a small service that gives you that special atmosphere.

If you are bored and tired of Guitar Hero or Rock Band, why not play Vuvuzela Hero?

For those of you who just can’t get vuvuzela enough there’s the real test. The Vuvuzela-How.Long-Can-You-Stand-It-Test. Turn up for your loudspeakers and give it your best shot.

Finally it isn’t a proper internetmeme without Hitler commenting on the vuvuzela or a ribbon to put on your twitter picture. The vuvuzela ribbon is even colored in the German flag’s colors.

Bonus info: The vuvuzela sound is inspired by the sound goats make on the way to the butcher.

Vuvuzela – All The Good Vuvuzela Links In One Place is a post from: The Inquisitr

The opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup saw host nation South Africa share the points with Mexico at a cacophonous Soccer City in Johannesburg. Only a late equalizer from Mexico’s Rafael Marquez ensured the Mexicans gained anything from a match that they dominated for long periods.

With the opening half controlled by Mexico, South Africa took only ten minutes of the second half to score against the run of play. After a thrilling break from defense, Siphiwe Tshabalala was fed a ball through the middle of the Mexican defense, and blasted an unstoppable left-foot strike high into the Mexican net from the left.

Soccer City duly exploded with noise, as Tshabalala led the choreographed celebrations (above).

Mexico were not to be denied, however, and on 78 minutes Marquez controlled an Andres Guardado cross and fired smartly past South Africa’s excellent goalkeeper, Itumeleng Khune.

The spoils were duly shared, yet Mexico will feel hard done by after outplaying the South Africans for much of the match. Just before half-time, Guillermo Franco had the ball in the net for the Mexicans, yet the goal was correctly ruled out for offside. Elsewhere, there was much profligacy on display from Mexico, with Giovani and Franco wasting gilt-edged chances.

Ironically, it was South Africa who came closest to snatching all three points in the last few moments, with striker Katlego Mphela rolling the ball against a post when it looked easier to score.

The other teams in Group A, France and Uruguay, play later this evening.

South Africa and Mexico kick off World Cup 2010 with a draw is a post from: The Inquisitr

South Africa looks set to follow the lead of Australia and introduce broad scale internet censorship, with a proposal to block internet porn.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba has put the proposal to South Africa’s Law Reform Commission, arguing that “Cars are already provided with brakes and seatbelts… There is no reason why the internet should be provided without the necessary restrictive mechanisms built into it.”

According to the BBC, a group called “Justice Alliance for South Africa” is pushing for the censorship of pornography, with the proposal to also cover mobile phones and television. The same BBC report notes that “pornography is a subject of ongoing debate in South Africa.”

As with Australia, you can’t help but wonder that censorship proposals are a distraction from real issues: South Africa has some of the highest crime rates in the world, and a rampant HIV/ Aids epidemic.

South Africa To Censor Internet Porn is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hey, they’re both similar shapes.

Err … kinda.

[Thanks CS!]

Geography fail: Controversy at FIFA World Cup is a post from: The Inquisitr

South African police have arrested at least one blogger (possibly three) in an apparent crackdown on Government dissent.

According to local media, Albert Oosthuizen who runs zasucks.com – was arrested allegedly on the basis of an outstanding warrant from 1993. Two bloggers from the Boerevryheid blog are also believed to have been arrested, although those arrests have not been confirmed.

Zasucks.com has as its mission to “bring news to the outside world of the crap that has become of South Africa”

Confirming that the arrest of Oosthuizen may have been politically motivated, Oosthuizen was released from custody after the state prosecutor refused to place the case on the roll. The same report also notes that despite facing a fraud charge, police confiscated Oosthuizen’s computers and seized mobile phones in the house, including those belonging to his daughters.

Oosthuizen said in a post to Zasucks.com that he had been told by police that his equipment would be studied by the Organised Crime, Cybercrimes units “after which they may or may not bring indictments against me.”

South Africa Arrests Bloggers Critical of Government is a post from: The Inquisitr

We might complain about how it would be nice to have faster broadband but at least we don’t have to use a carrier pigeon to transfer data like Unlimited Group in South Africa.

The IT firm in South Africa quite regularly transfers four gigabyte of encrypted data between two offices that are 50 miles apart. Even with their current broadband speeds it take some six hours to transfer the data whereas it will take about 45 minutes for a pigeon with a special memory card attached to the bird’s leg.

Unlimited Group boss Kevin Rolfe said: ‘It might sound crazy in this day and age, but we’re always looking for new ways to move our business forward and we think this might just work.

‘For years we’ve struggled with the internet as a method of communication. It’s fine for emails and correspondence, but we need to transfer a lot of data from office to another and find it often lets us down.

‘To send four gigabytes of encrypted information takes around six hours on a good day. If we get bad weather and the service goes down then it can up to two days to get through.

‘We started looking at other ways to solve the problem and discovered that carrier pigeons could do the job a lot more quickly.’

Source: Mail Online – Firm enlists Winston the homing pigeon to transfer data – because he’s faster than broadband

And we laugh at the memories of sneaker-nets

It’s a sad day when a pigeon is faster than broadband is a post from: The Inquisitr

According to Wikipedia, “a zipline (also known as a flying fox, zip wire, aerial runway, aerial ropeslide, death slide or tyrolean crossing) consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline. They are designed to enable a user propelled by gravity to traverse from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable, usually made of stainless steel, by holding on or attaching to the freely moving pulley.”

Now I’ve seen a flying fox before, but I’ve never seen anything like this. The video is taken in South Africa, and is claimed to show the worlds longest Zipline. What ever it is, it’s not for the faint of heart.

In South Africa, even the ziplines are bigger is a post from: The Inquisitr