Some endangered wild animals in South Africa are facing their crisis in conservation, a newspaper warned on Tuesday.
A total of 227 endangered rhinos have been lost to illegal poaching this year, the New Age reported, citing the latest statistics by Department of Water and Environment Affairs.
South Africa is home to the largest rhino population in the world, with about 20,000 animals.
However, the number of the rhinos illegally killed in the country has been rising in recent years. In 2011, 448 rhinos were killed in South Africa, compared to 333 in 2010.
"If this trend continues, the rhino death toll will reach about 550, 100 more than last year," the paper quoted Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) chief executive Yolan Friedmann as saying.
"We are extremely concerned about rhino losses in South Africa, " the chief executive said.
The blue swallow is an endangered bird with a total number of about 4,000, breeding in southern Africa and wintering further in Uganda and Kenya on the African continent.
In recent years, the number of the blue swallow in Africa is falling due to the destruction of its habitat at both breeding and wintering sites.
"Five local populations of the blue swallow have been lost in South Africa," Friedmann said.
She warned if the breeding and non-breeding habitats could not be urgently secured, the rapid decline and likely extinction of the total blue swallow in South Africa is in the cards.
Another species increasingly at risk is the iconic wild dog, the newspaper reported.
The wild dog on the African continent is one of the most endangered mammal species, with the best estimate of fewer than 5, 000 existing in the wild due to land clearance, urbanization and other factors.
"There are fewer than 400 wild dogs currently existing in the wild in South Africa, with the famous Kruger National Park accounting for the majority," said the chief executive.
In recent years, the South African government has taken forceful measures to protect the endangered animals.
In an effort of curbing the illegal poaching of rhino, the law enforcement agencies have arrested 148 suspects since the beginning of this year, Department of Water and Environment Affairs said on Monday.