AKIPRESS.COM - A rhino has been shot dead by poachers at a zoo in France in what is believed to be the first such incident in Europe, BBC reported.

Keepers found Vince, a four-year-old white rhino, in his enclosure at Thoiry Zoo on Tuesday morning.

One of his horns had been hacked off with a chainsaw, police said.

The African rhino's horn commands high prices on the black market, with about 100 killed every month in the wild.

However, this is thought to be the first time poachers have targeted a rhino living in a European zoo.

Vince was shot three times in the head after poachers forced their way into the zoo overnight. They then took the horn - a kilo of which could fetch as much as $60,000 (£49,300).

But the poachers appear to have been disturbed as his second - partially sawn - horn was left behind.