13 rhinos have been poached in Botswana in the last two months, the tourism ministry said, as the government tries to clamp down on the hunting of the endangered species.

The southern African country is home to just under 400 rhinos, 23 of which are white rhinos and eight of which are black rhinos, which are classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Botswana's tourism ministry said the government has stepped up efforts to tackle poaching with interventions leading to the recovery of some horns and hunting weapons.

Botswana's neighbor South Africa lost 769 rhinos to poachers last year, and more than 7,100 animals have been slaughtered over the past decade.

There are fewer than 25,000 rhinos left in the wild in Africa due to a surge in poaching, and only 5,000 of them are black rhinos.

(Editor: Li Yunqi)

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