09, 150 were counted and last year, 250.
"There has been a very significant increase in poaching in general and elephants in particular, especially in the last 2 to 3 years," said Anabela Rodrigues, the executive director of the company that manages the reserve.
The problem is also getting worse even in relatively developed South Africa.
Most of its rhinos are being slain in its famed Kruger National Park, which shares a porous border with Mozambique.
Under the light of a full moon, one park ranger displayed his poacher-tracking kit which included an assault rifle and backpacks with radios, night goggles and an incredibly powerful spotlight that threw a beam hundreds of meters away.
"This will burn the eyes right out of your skull," he said.
Yet despite a price tag for all of the equipment close to ${esc.dollar}30,000, Kruger is hardly winning its war with poachers.
And if South Africa is struggling, what chance do rangers with far fewer resources have in isolated corners of Africa such as Garamba, especially if they are dealing with helicopters?
"We have guards who are well trained but there's a shortage of weapons and ammunition," said Congo's Muamba. (${esc.dollar}1 = 7.8175 South African rand) (Additional reporting by William Mapote in Maputo, Jan Harvey in London, Jon Herskovitz in Johannesburg, John Ruwitch in Hanoi, Tan Ee Lyn in Hong Kong and Sally Huang in Beijing; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Sonya Hepinstall)
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