| Every day rangers are risking their lives to protect rhinos from poaching
Meet Sibonelo Zulu, an Anti-Poaching Unit Officer in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. Sibonelo leads a dedicated team of rangers in the remote South African bush. Being part of this team is incredibly challenging. To protect rhinos from poachers they often camp for 21 days at a time, working throughout the night to detect incursions, with sometimes just two or three hours sleep per day.
“As field rangers we’re proud of our work,” says Sibonelo. “We’re proud of saving rhinos, so that is why my team is always out in the field trying to stop poachers.”
The difficulty is that poaching levels are increasing. “Anti-Poaching Units have to spend more days in the field – the poachers come during the darkness, especially during moonlight’
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Hear from Sibonelo
Listen to Sibonelo talk about his life in an Anti-Poaching Unit in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park and the daily challenges his team face protecting rhinos.
It’s not just about the rhinos
Sibonelo explains that ‘now poachers want to shoot at us, we have to defend ourselves’. Bullet-proof vests, first aid kits and pepper spray are all essential kit items, which are unfortunately often in short supply.
With the prices of rhino horn skyrocketing, criminal syndicates are employing increasingly dangerous tactics to kill rhinos, making a rangers job incredibly challenging.
Find out more about how equipment can help the ranger teams >
Basic equipment is in short supply
To add to their challenges, much of the Anti-Poaching Unit equipment is worn through and needs replacing: basic equipment such as sleeping bags and mattresses are running low. According to Sibonelo, “If we get enough equipment like water bottles and backpacks, these can help us spend more time in the field, because that’s what we’re short of.”
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Photo credits: Save the Rhino International |
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