Unsung heroes celebrated
World Ranger Day was celebrated in the park on Thursday
SKUKUZA – Just as news started filtering through the Kruger National Park that another poacher had been apprehended, carrying a rifle and an axe, honour was bestowed upon the rangers who were risking their lives to save our natural heritage.
World Ranger Day was celebrated in the park on Thursday. It was the seventh anniversary of the day, which is held in memory of rangers who have lost their lives in the line of duty and to honour those who risk their lives daily to protect endangered species and other resources.
“Every day these brave men and women put their lives at risk to protect our endangered fauna and flora, tracking and detaining poachers, monitoring animals and preventing wildlife crime. Year in and year out, they brave bitter cold and searing heat in honour of their pledge to protect the environment,” said the deputy minister of environmental affairs, Ms Barbara Thomson in her keynote address.
She said the importance of their work was nowhere else more clearly illustrated than in the fight against rhino poaching. “Many rangers regularly face armed poachers at tragic cost to their own safety. Often outnumbered and outgunned by well-armed and well-organised poachers and criminal gangs, they continue to soldier on and for this they deserve nothing but our deepest respect and admiration.”
While many speakers accentuated the importance of the local community members’ support in any potential success in the war against rhino poaching, much emphasis was also placed on the importance of bringing down buyers and middlemen.
Thomson officially unveiled the Ranger Monument at Kruger Gate. The monument includes parts of a leadwood tree, because it is a species that has survived where others have floundered. The monument depicts the two lifelines of the hand of the ranger, and are symbolic of the their lives dedicated to serve the broad ideals of conservation. Secondly, it represents the stewardship responsibility of all people.
The festivities included, among others, a rangers’ parade, the park’s pilots showing of their skills, entertainment by the Voices of the Wild choir and the recital of poems by rangers that depict the difficult circumstances they work under.
The SANParks Honorary Rangers also announced that it was donating R150 000 to improving the lives of the rangers when they were not on duty. This included the promotion of vegetable gardens and the implementation of basic social and psychological programmes.
Various senior members of SANParks management also took to the podium to voice their support of the rangers, including acting SANParks CEO Mr Abe Sibiya, chairman of the SANParks board, Mr Kuseni Dlamini and acting executive of the Kruger National Park, Mr Danie Pienaar.
