Poachers kill white rhino inside French zoo

Keepers at the Thoiry Zoo in France made a disturbing discovery on Tuesday morning, when they found a 4-year-old white rhino shot dead inside his enclosure.

Police say one of his horns had been hacked off with a chainsaw, and the other was partially removed. The rhino, Vince, was just 5 years old, and had been shot in the head three times. The poachers broke into the zoo overnight, and it's believed this is the first time a rhino was killed inside a European zoo.

On the black market, rhino horns can command $30,000 a pound; in some countries, including Vietnam, it is considered an aphrodisiac, the BBC reports. The white rhino was on the brink of extinction in the late 19th century, but slowly made a comeback, although now about 100 rhinos are killed in the wild every month for their horns. Two other rhinos at the Thoiry Zoo, 37-year-old Gracie and 5-year-old Bruno, were not harmed during the attack.

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