Silent killers in the bush: Poachers each have a signature style
The Snare Aware team recently went to Ashburton after receiving reports of poaching. A member discusses the sweep.
ANYTHING that can be made into a noose can be used as a snare. Amanzimtoti-based non-profit organisation, Snare Aware, often gets deep into the thickets for their crusade against poaching.
A Snare Aware member whose identity will remain anonymous for their safety, explained that people often do not know what a snare is, and in urban greenbelts especially, snares fly under the radar and wreak havoc.
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“Our two most famous snares were found just after the Durban unrest in 2021. They were made from the security cables used to lock display laptops in an electronics shop. Loot first, poach second. With the many areas that we travel to remove snares, we find many different varieties of snares, with each poacher having his own signature setup,” said the member.
Since receiving information about multiple snares and dead wildlife in Ashburton, the Snare Aware team ventured to the Lower Mpushini Valley Conservancy area recently.
“Despite knowing the area well after many sweeps in this heavily poached area, it still is a massive area and always a search for a needle in a haystack. Poachers change tactics, target new areas and implement new methods to stay a step ahead of anti-poaching efforts. Our first sweep was not very successful and emphasises the importance of receiving accurate location information. The team only found two old snares despite covering 5km of difficult terrain in a tiring four-hour sweep. We knew we had to return and after receiving fresh information from LMVC about two cows that had been released from snares in another area, the team redeployed and this time came across nine well set, fresh snares and a decomposed Nyala. After covering another 5km in wet, slippery conditions, the team called it a day, with nine lives saved,” said the member.
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