How tourists in Africa can join patrols with rangers protecting endangered animals

Fresh dung. Tracks in the sand of the Namib desert. The black rhinoceros cannot be far away. Wildlife rangers Stefanus Ganuseb, 42, and Fritz Hoeb, 45, are patrolling on foot, equipped with binoculars and a camera, and accompanied by an armed policeman. Then they discover the young male rhino named Arthur on a distant crest. The rangers check the direction of the wind so that their scent will not be detected, and creep toward the animal. Normally they get no closer than 100 metres (330 feet), but today, Arthur is coming closer, not noticing the men and peacefully grazing on juicy stalks of spurge bushes. The men take pictures and fill out a form of the sighting for the animal protection group Save the Rhino Trust. “The chief aim of Save the Rhino Trust is to protect the black rhinoceros from poachers,” says Lesley Karutjaiva, the 47-year-old head of the group’s base in Palmwag, in northwestern Namibia. It is from the local lodge that tours start for observing the creatures. What tour participants do not know is that, without Save the Rhino Trust, there may not be any more of the rare animals to see. And so tourism profits from the efforts of an organisation that keeps watch on an area of 25,000 square kilometres (9,700 square miles). Karutjaiva, who estimates the rhinos’ numbers at nearly 200, is sorry that there is no state financial support for the group’s work. “We do not receive anything,” he says, adding: “We have only six vehicles. This isn’t enough for such a huge area.” The state only provides police escorts for the patrols. All other costs – be it for rangers, training programmes or the dehorning of the animals – are covered by donations. Karutjaiva considers dehorning, which was done to Arthur, a double-edged sword. Basically speaking, the practice is to make a rhino less attractive for poachers, for the 3.5kg (7.7lb) horn can fetch more than US$200,000 on the black market. “But the disadvantage is for the rhinoceros itself, because it then cannot defend itself against predators,” he says. Moreover, dehorning is not a complete deterrent. “Poachers take all the parts, even if they are so tiny,” Karutjaiva says, adding that 35 rhinos have been killed by poachers since 2012. “We need more donations to do a better job and to hire more personnel,” he says. For him and his professional colleagues, the drought in Namibia is a catastrophe because the authorities have issued permits for the hunting of wild animals. It is a matter of argument whether this move is to provide meat for the starving population. Or, as animal protection groups suspect, it is just as likely that the hunting licences are going to wealthy recreational hunters from abroad. Meanwhile, the organisation Elephant-Human Relations Aid is keeping watch over around 200 kilometres (124 miles) of roads and trails southeast of Palmwag in a bid to protect desert elephants. Again, tourists are the beneficiaries and are allowed to accompany the teams on their patrols. And the group also gets no money from the state. The term “desert elephant” is not totally correct, game warden Taiwin Garoeb notes. “They are elephants who have adapted to the desert climate. They can cover long distances to the next watering hole,” the 30-year-old says. But in the past this has also led to many of the pachyderms being killed. A thirsty elephant may attack farmers and settlers, and they in turn fight back. So precautions have to be taken. “We build protective walls at water points and separate dams away from village communities,” says regional manager Charles Moloto. A move, so to speak, to protect animals and people from each other. “When I meet an elephant, I feel humble,” says Garoeb, who actively helps with the campaigns. Like him, his colleagues from Save the Rhino Trust are fighting for the survival of endangered species in deserts and savannahs. “It is a dangerous job for us, but I love it, being in the bush,” rhino ranger Ganuseb says, his eyes lighting up. He and all the others who unconditionally work to protect the animal kingdom are the quiet heroes of the wilderness.

How tourists in Africa can join patrols with rangers protecting endangered animals

In drought-stricken Namibia, where conservation groups are fighting to preserve endangered species, paying tourists can join ranger patrols

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