Black Mamba ranger knows her stuff
Although being a ranger is classified as one of the most dangerous professions, Bongani Masingi, a ranger at Black Mambas, an all-female anti-poaching unit, proves that all is worth it if it means keeping wildlife safe.
Her interest in nature was sparked growing up watching National Geographic. “I was fascinated watching the programmes with my siblings trying to understand what animals eat and how they hunt,” she says. She says, that as a ranger, visual policing is their main duty. “We patrol the fences early in the morning. It’s a four-hour patrol on foot. The aim is to deter poachers as we are visible along the fence line,” she says. They report anything, from cigarette buds, spoor, and markers.
“It can be a tape, or a piece of plastic tied to the fence or a tree.” They carry two-way radios and are in contact with the operation room when patrolling. “We also use an app where we log our findings, and everything goes straight to the ops room. “They will send backup when we need it since we are unarmed; we only have pepper spray and handcuffs,” she adds. Masingi says they also do snare sweeps.
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“We check for tracks, report any suspicious activities, poachers’ camps, and remove snares. When sweeping, we walk in formations with visual contact of the people on both sides, but when the bush is thick, we must walk in a single file, for safety purposes,” says Masingi. To her, there are no differences between male and female rangers.
“It is a mindset; you are just as capable as your male counterparts. As a woman, you can achieve just as much,” she adds. She says knowledge of the bush and veld is extremely important when patrolling the reserves. “You must learn to understand the language of the animals, not enter their comfort zone, read their body language, and always keep a distance because it is their habitat.”
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“We are working in Big Five territory, so it is important to work together as a team,” she says. “I never saw myself becoming a ranger. It’s a journey and for you to grow, you need to challenge yourself. Step out of your comfort zone, start to familiarise yourself with things that you are not familiar with,” concludes Masingi.
