South African Rhino Poaches Approaching Deadly Record

Some 558 South African rhinos have been killed this year so far from poaching, and even with attempts to save this iconic species, it seems that 2014 may be the deadliest year on record, wildlife officials said Thursday.

The number of animals killed is already about 100 higher than at the same point in 2013, a year which saw a record 1,004 deaths.

And out of all the supposedly protected parks in South Africa, Kruger National Park has been hardest hit.

"Since January 2014, 351 rhinos have been poached in the park," the department of environmental affairs said in a statement.

There are an estimated 25,000 rhinos left in the world, with 80 percent of those living in South Africa. But if poaching rates continue the way they are now, they could face extinction.

Rhino horns are a valuable item in Asia, seen as a status symbol and falsely believed to possess medicinal properties to cure cancers and hangovers - even though they are composed of keratin, the same material as fingernails. They are worth up to $100,000 per kilogram, according to The Dodo.

Poachers have gone to great lengths to get their hands on these prized horns, using semi-automatic rifles or poisoned darts.

Recent efforts to halt this illegal black market trade include the arrest of South African park and other officials believed to be implicated in poaching rings.

Howard G. Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, even donated $24 million to fight rhino poaching in South Africa. The money is meant to go towards ranger teams, sniffer dogs and other security measures.

"We're going to do it at a scale that hasn't been done," Buffett told The Associated Press.

If such initiatives don't make a dent this year, 1,066 rhinos will be dead come December, according to reports by Wildlife News.

Rhinos aren't the only iconic African animals threatened by poaching. Elephants in Kenya, valued for their ivory tusks, are being slaughtered in vast numbers, with more than about 20,000 killed last year.

And wildlife officials were devastated when they discovered that the famed elephant Satao, age 45, was killed last month by poachers despite protection from Kenya's Tsavo National Park.