CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Two 19th century rhino horns stolen from a South African museum could be deadly if sold as a popular aphrodisiac because they are drenched in poison, a museum official said on Monday.
The "priceless" horns were snatched from a display at thehistoric mammal gallery in Cape Town on Saturday evening, saidJatti Bredekamp, chief executive of Iziko Museums.
"Unknowingly, the thieves have exposed themselves to morethan the danger of arrest and prosecution," Bredekamp said in astatement.
"Before the mid-twentieth century, taxidermy mounts wereprepared by being soaked in arsenic and preserved from insectinfestation through regular applications of DDT, both highlytoxic poisons that retain their toxicity over time," he said.
Bredekamp said the horns were deliberately targeted in acarefully planned robbery, and might be destined for Asia,where ground rhino horns are a prized aphrodisiac.
"This could have unforeseen consequences," he said.
Rhino populations have fallen dramatically over the lastfew decades as poaching decimated the animals across Africa.
Bredekamp said museums worldwide were being targeted byorganised crime to help supply lucrative markets with a widerange of artefacts. After a previous robbery attempt, SouthAfrican museum officials removed several other specimens ofrhino horn from public display, he said.
(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Caroline Drees andMichael Winfrey)
