Today is an opportunity to give rangers the appreciation and respect they deserve. When laws are weak, technology is expensive, and the price on an animal’s head is high, the only thing literally standing between a poacher and rhino, is the ranger.
We salute you all! Thank you for your dedication, bravery and efforts. You truly are our heroes.
Photo: Bruce Adams
Watch this short Discovery clip of black rhinos at night. It’s amazing the things nature has to teach us, and all we still don’t know about our ancient pachyderms.
Northern Whites by Tony Karumba
Sudan, photo: James Mwenda
On average 2 rhinos and 96 elephants are slaughtered each day.
In the last ten years over 1,000 rangers have been killed.
Should there be a shoot-to-kill policy? Would it help? The controversy is widely debated.
But what do the rangers think?
I spoke to several rangers to get their thoughts.
One ranger said,
“Most of the poachers are poor locals surrounding the wildlife reserves and they see the reserves as their source of income. What is needed is to empower people near the reserves economically, pass on scheme of goats, dairy cows, sending poor children to school… they will become role models to the community and people will begin to appreciates the importance of conserving animals.
We can shoot ten poachers a day, suppose they are all men- surely their families will suffer and later become poachers as means of survival. We shoot at poachers when our lives and that of our friends are in danger but shooting down any poacher it’s not solution.”
Apprehended poacher in Garamba.
Another who works in a large reserve said,
“I don’t think it will help because we normally look for deep information & investigations on a suspect caught that may lead to their middlemen, bosses etc.”
These Limpopo poachers were acquitted of rhino poaching in 2014, and just caught for rhino poaching again this month, in January.
But overall most of them were in favor of the policy.
“Keeping them alive sometimes does not help because the source of poaching is dealing with big people, often from government offices. So it’s a bit risky for the rangers who arrest them.”
“This thing of arrest, it throws us backwards to winning this war of poaching. The more that are arrested, the more they are replaced by new poachers.”
“In courts things turn ugly for most of our rangers who killed poachers due to poachers kingpins paying prosecutors money to let their associates off the hook. (If it were a policy, the government would support rangers without the extensive interrogation)
“Yes, yes, yes! They should be shot. Because the rhinos are killed, but also the rangers. I think it is the only way to win this war.”
Cameroon park ranger Bruce Danny Ngongo was shot dead in a poacher confrontation this past December. photo: Cameroon Wildlife Service
This must be one of the most brutal fortnights yet in the history of the rhino poaching war, in our province. At least 14 deaths were discovered in various protected areas in as many days. (I can’t go into detail at this time but it’s getting even more savage, as if that’s possible.)
Yesterday honestly rates as one of the lowest points in my life as a wildlife vet, pretty much an emotional breaking point – but it’s not the first time; it’s something that is happening far too often. I don’t think it is possible to explain to somebody who hasn’t experienced this nightmare, what even one death scene does to you. It’s traumatic and haunting, and cannot ever be erased from your mind. I’ve attended over 400!!
-From wildlife vet Dave Cooper
Planting crosses for fallen rhinos in South Africa. So far, there are an estimated 731 of them this year.
The slaughter is real, the poachers are relentless. In this incident, Dr. Cooper attended a death scene of not just one more rhino, but four!
We need to be just as relentless in our efforts to curb the poaching and protect our rhinos. If you’ve ever thought about helping, there is no better time than now. Please DONATE to support APUs in Kenya and South Africa.
photo: Max Waugh
photo: unknown
Broken laces,
Thin soled boots
Uniforms worn as second skin.
Rifle at ready
Watching, waiting, listening
Time ticks
As silence invites to be broken.
Night’s campfires can’t warm,
Day’s heat smothers like a thick blanket
Minds wander, sleep beckons
Time ticks
Yesterday a success
for death found neither
ranger nor rhino and
life resumes.
Will tomorrow bring the same?
The hours will tell
Time ticks
as shift draws toward a close.
Back home families wait
and wonder.
By Tisha Wardlow
Name: Emmanuel
Age: 24 years old
Location: Tanzania Mwanza region
Ranger Emmah
I choose to be a ranger because when I was young I got interested in wild and domestic animals. The issue of conservation is in my blood and was also my dreams, because my father also is a veterinary.
When the time goes and the population of human beings increase, so does the issue of poaching of animals such as elephants and rhinos and antelopes. That activity make me unhappy so I told my father that I want to study in a College of Wildlife Management; when I was studying my ambition was to be working in a National Park or Game reserve.
What has been your most rewarding and most difficult moment as a ranger?
As a ranger my most rewarding time is during Summer season because of the infrastructure of road is good when moving from one place or one point to another point. The most difficult time as a ranger is during the Winter or rain season because of the infrastructure is not suitable.
How much do you work, what is your schedule like?
I work day and night, summer and winter, all seasons of the year to ensure that our wild animals who are mostly sought after by poachers are surviving and are not killed.
Ugali is a dish of flour cooked with water to a porridge- or dough-like consistency.
What’s your favorite meal?
Ma favourite meal is Ugali,Rice and meat or fish
Where would you like to travel someday?
Emmah
Looking for a job where you’re unappreciated? Employee must:
Sound extreme? That’s the life of a wildlife ranger. They do get appreciation from conservationists, at least in words. At “Fight for Rhinos”, we see plenty of “Thank You’s” in gratitude of their undaunting work. Unfortunately words are not enough. They need and deserve so much more.
In our current campaign “Training Rangers to Protect Rhinos”, we are raising funds to send an anti-poaching unit to human tracker training. This group has basic training, but is inexperienced with HUMAN tracking. In order to prevent more loss of rhino, and for the safety of the rangers, we are seeking funds to send them to an Anti-Poaching Tracking Course .
A combined effort of “Go Fund Me” along with PayPal donations on our site have brought us to $600. We only need $400 more.
If all of our followers shared this story and turned their “thank you” into even $5, we would not only surpass our goal, but be able to send 13 more APUs to training!
Please help. Your little bit goes a LONG way.
Donate at Go Fund Me or Paypal on the left corner of our page.
photo: Southern Africa Wildlife College
Rangers are taught “basic training” in a short 6-8 week period of time. During this general training they learn
This is a lot to take in during a short amount of time. Once employed, they study and learn on-the-job with senior rangers. During their time with a reserve, there is constant in-house training to enhance or maintain their skills. Additional outside training is welcomed, but can be more costly.
Rangers have some familiarity in animal tracking, but humans are another kind of animal. Poachers are an ever-present danger. Due to the increase and intensity of poaching, it is absolutely essential for rangers to learn how to track them within their area.
Tracker training by Colin Patrick Training.
Human (or poacher) tracking teaches them
Early detection of the presence of suspicious activities / presence of suspects.
The systematic following of a suspects trail that can lead to the:
Location of traps, snares, camps, entry and exit point, and poaching hot spots.
Apprehension of the suspects whether it be trespassers or poachers
Gathering of invaluable intelligence on movement and operation patterns, level of skill, modus operandi, and current weaknesses within the implemented operational plan, which will feed into the counter poaching model,
Gathering of evidence linking suspects to scenes of crime.
With poachers having the advantage of the element of surprise, working in groups, and often better armed, learning how to detect them is crucial both to the safety of the rangers and wildlife.
photo: unknown
In order to keep them safe, we must support THEIR protectors, the rangers. photo: Penny Wilson
We’re starting out the new year with a Go-Fund-Me campaign to protect our rhinos and the courageous rangers who stand between them and the poachers.
photo: Chris Galliers
We received a plea from a ranger belonging to a smaller anti-poaching unit in southern Kruger National Park. The loss of rhino in their area has left them feeling frustrated and helpless. Aside from their basic training, they are in urgent need of a tracking course to enable them to better track poachers when they are in the area.
In this ranger’s words “It is important to go to such training as in most training centers or colleges they do teach us tracking but in a short period, and in those weeks there’s lot of things we’ve been taught (i.e animal identification, tree species, grass,soil erosion, patrol techniques, etc) so doing this specified human tracking will enable us to see clearly where and how the poachers came and to follow them if they’re inside the park.”
Please support and share this crucial campaign. ANY and every amount is hugely appreciated.
For more see: Rangers can’t do it alone, they need your help!
Go-Fund-Me: Training Rangers to Protect Rhinos
EIN/Charity 90-1018988
