Thick brush, no trails, night vision goggles and powerful guns, enter poachers and rangers in the fight for the rhino.
This past weekend my husband Russ and I spent several hours hiking in a rather remote Texas State Park. The cedar and scrub oak were dense as we made our way along the trail.
This got me thinking. Here we are walking in broad daylight and we can barely see the startled deer or the small birds twittering in the brush. What a challenge Peter, his team, and other anti-poaching rangers have! Here they are, usually at night with the task to not only find the rhino but the poachers, stealing closer on the ground or in the air to kill and plunder.
Add to this, they are not only doing everything they can to hear and see the enemy, but are at risk for finding themselves in the cross-hairs. Plus, they do this night after night. They are the FBI for wildlife. Gathering intel, following leads, spending much time waiting and watching and then running and rushing with adrenal pumping in pursuit. Not to mention the violation to all the senses when coming upon a rhino poaching scene.
Yes, peacefully hiking through the dense vegetation and majesty of nature in Texas somehow opened a glimpse of the similar, yet totally different experience anti-poaching rangers have as they employ all their skills and energy, matched only by their dedication and courage as they enter the war zone, the bushveld in South Africa where the rhinos roam in peril.
Thank you to all of you warriors on the ground, the anti-poaching rangers, the rhinos’ hope for survival.
I once read a story, I think it was in Bruce Bryden’s book “A GAME RANGER REMEMBERS”. Bruce is a legend of the Kruger National Park.
The story went that they had been having a particularly tough time apprehending a certain poacher whose name I have now forgotten. The strategy of the poacher was to set his snares close to the boundary fence. The Rangers would then lie in ambush but it seemed the crafty poacher always picked them up. He would stop, look intently in the direction of the snare. He would then turn and run back towards the fence and because of the distance between the fence and the snared animal he would always escape. The law at that time prohibited Game Rangers from arresting outside the boundaries of the Park.
One day the group of Game Rangers formulated a plan. They decided not to run after the poacher. When a snared animal near the fence was located they once more assumed their ambush positions. When the poacher approached he climbed the fence and as usual after a few steps stopped and ran back to the fence, the Game Rangers didn’t move a muscle. When he reached the fence he stopped, turned around and marched purposefully towards the snared animal. He reached the animal and before he properly understood what was happening he was in cuffs…
By the way, the biggest mistake people from the city make is that they look into the bush, you must condition yourself to look through the bushes. You will see the game before they see you.