JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Poachers got more than they bargained for when the rhinos they were trying to kill fought back to defend themselves.
Police in South Africa's northernmost province of Limpopo has announced that a group of rhinos stormed five poachers by chasing them and "damaged the suspects' firearm" on a farm in the province.
Although the suspects managed to escape, local police then arrested three of them by following five sets of tracks found in the vicinity.
Two rhinos had been shot by the suspects but were rescued by local staff.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe told local press that the two rhinos could have lost their horns and even their lives if other rhinos hadn't fought back.
The greatest threat facing African rhinos is poaching for the illegal trade in their horns, as about 6,000 rhinos have been killed in Africa since 2008, according to figures from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
