By Hassan Isilow 

JOHANNESBURG

Two of the six black rhinos that were flown from South Africa to Chad in the month of May have been found dead, government officials said on Sunday.

“We can confirm that these two rhinos, a male and a female, were not poached. However, the exact cause of death is not yet known,” the governments of South Africa and Chad said in a joint statement.

The rhinos were relocated to the Central African country in a scheme aimed at re-introducing the species back to the Zakouma National Park after a 50-year of absence caused by poaching.

“A specialist Veterinarian was dispatched and is now on site in Zakouma National Park in order to conduct a postmortem that will provide more information on the cause of death,” the statement said.

It added that, the remaining four are being closely monitored. South Africa which has the largest population of rhinos in the world faces a threat from poachers who often kill the animals for their horns.

The rhino horn is on high demand in Asia where people believe it has medical value.