Support Mounted Rangers Fighting Rhino Poaching

A huge thank you to all the GlobalGiving donors who supported the work of Project Rhino and those on the frontline of the rhino poaching crisis this quarter. Your contributions and support continue to make a tremendous difference in the battle against wildlife crime and we value each and every donation.

Tourists and conservationists are slowly returning to our game reserves as South Africa has moved into Level Two and (finally) Level One of lockdown. Though not as many visitors as before March, and with almost no international tourists as cross-border travel is still heavily regulated. It has been an incredibly challenging few months for these conservation areas, particularly the wildlife communities who depend on eco-tourism for their livelihoods. High rates of food insecurity can still be found in these areas and many turn to bushmeat poaching – or are tempted into wildlife crime - in sheer desperation. With our partners like the Do-More Foundation, we have continued to deliver food parcels to wildlife communities across the Province, and have delivered more than 27 tons of nutritional porridge to hungry families to date. Whilst our Ranger teams continue to conduct daily patrols – checking fences, removing snares and keeping a careful watch on our rhino and other wildlife.

People are not the only ones affected by hunger and our Rhino ART facilitator, Richard Mabanga, took a break from delivering food packages and loaded his vehicle with plenty of hay to sustain our horses in northern KwaZulu-Natal. We will continue to supplement their grazing in the coming months, wherever needed.

Exciting news for the Horse Units is that we will soon be conducting training for rangers wanting to join the equine patrols at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park and Spioenkop Game Reserve. This will be a huge benefit to the reserves as there are a limited number of qualified mounted rangers at the moment and it will mean that reserves can increase the number of patrols and reduce the stress and workload of existing teams. The training is generously funded by the Great Plains Foundation’s Project Ranger initiative.

A huge thank you also to Global Conservation Force, who sponsored backpacks with water bladders, solar power packs and rechargeable torches for the mounted rangers in the Nqumeni section of Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park. These necessities make a huge difference in their daily duties and patrols.

As one of the last bastions of black and southern white rhino populations, we remain committed to combatting wildlife crime and keeping KZN’s rhino safe. Thank you once again to all our donors for making our work possible.