167 rhino horns seized in South Africa, two arrested

Two men have been arrested in north-west SouthAfrica after 167 rhino horns were found in their vehicle, police saidSunday.Police received a tip-off about the "considerable" number of hornsand intercepted the men in the Hartbeespoortdam area west ofPretoria.The horns were worth a "substantial" amount of money, police said,adding that they were destined for markets in South-East Asia. In China and Vietnam 1 kilo of rhino horn can cost up to 30,000dollars. One horn typically weighs between 3 and 7 kilos.International trade in rhino horn has been banned for the past fourdecades but illegal poaching continues, with 1,000 rhinos killed inSouth Africa alone every year.Some horns are sold as exotic ornaments while in China and Vietnamthey are credited with aphrodisiac and healing properties. They aremade of keratin, the same substance which forms human nails.In Africa there are around 25,000 rhinos, around 20,000 of which arefound in South Africa.The majority of these animals are white rhinos. The black rhino iscritically endangered, with just 5,000 thought to remain in the wild.