A life dedicated to protecting wildlife

FOR 21 years, Mr Greemph Tshuma, a ranger, has been literary living in the bush protecting wild animals from poachers.

From navigating thick forests day and night to tracking illegal hunters’ footprints, animal spoor and at times spending nights laying ambush on suspected poachers, well aware of dangers of being attacked by snakes, wild animals and even armed poachers, this is the life of Mr Tshuma, the ranger.

He is one of the 16 game scouts employed by Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VFAPU) and thousands of rangers attached to various conservation organisations and Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to protect both wildlife and humans.

Sometimes the rangers also face backlash from neighbours, who, when caught poaching wood, fish or wild animals, blame the game scouts for arresting them.

A news crew caught up with some rangers from VFAPU during a donation of US$21 million to the VFAPU by African Sun Limited recently and they narrated how dangerous their job is.

They risk attack by wild animals and snakes, stung by insects and attacked by poachers who sometimes are armed with knives, axes and even guns. The donation is meant to assist in paying the rangers’ salaries and medical aid so as to improve their livelihoods and boost morale.

Mr Tshuma who is operations coordinator for VFAPU, said sometimes he hardly spends time with his family.

“I have been on this job for 21 years and most of my time has been in the bush. Sometimes if I get an hour break, I rush home just to see my family but I am always on call. I love the job, which is why I have been on it for all these years,” he said.

VFAPU was established in 1991 and operates in areas around Victoria Falls city. The city is within the game park, surrounded by Chamabondo National Park, Victoria Falls National Park and Zambezi National Park. Wood and fish poaching are the most common poaching activities in Victoria Falls.

Being a small community where almost all people know each other, Mr Tshuma said as a ranger, he has leant to recuse himself whenever the suspects are his relatives or neighbours. Another ranger Mr Tanyala Ncube said he has been in the job for 14 years.

He said being a ranger requires one to have patience as they can spend hours lying in ambush waiting for suspected poachers especially after they detect some leads.

Rangers’ duties involve patrolling the bush and communities to check for poachers, rescuing trapped and injured animals as well as raising awareness against poaching.

VFAPU has rescued over 500 animals from wire snares since 1999, arrested thousands of poachers and removed more than 30 000 wire snares.

“I joined game scouts because having grown where there were no animals and starting to interact with them after moving to Victoria Falls, I felt I had to do something and immediately went for rangers’ training.

“I am more like a bush man now and I enjoy it although it comes with a lot of risks. We always encounter poachers and we have to see them before they see us so that we strategise. In the bush we mostly use sign language so that we don’t scare animals and also alert poachers. We encounter challenges as some can attack us while some promise to deal with us.

“One can wait for 30 minutes or more than an hour in one position observing and sometimes we sleep in the bush in ambush or walk long distances and colleagues have to follow us with food and clothes to change,” said Mr Ncube.

He said after sporting poachers, the strategy is to target one of them and apprehend than to chase all of them. Once the rangers apprehend a poacher, they hand them to police for arrest.

Mr Patrick Mpofu, a game scout for 17 years, said it is important to protect animals because they are a source of livelihood especially in Victoria Falls where tourism is the mainstay of the economy.

“We could not be having tourists coming or filling our hotels without these animals hence we have to protect them. Through efforts of the game scouts, poaching patterns have changed in Victoria Falls, with poachers now doing a set and wait method where they set wire snares and drive animals in,” he said.

VFAPU has rescued elephants, buffaloes, impalas, giraffes, warthogs, kudus and other antelopes from wire snares, and work with veterinary doctors, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and other partners to rehabilitate the animals and police to arrest the poachers. Some animals die.

Mr Billy Eso Ncube, another game scout with 11 years’ experience said wounded animals are dangerous to the public.

“We meet wounded elephants and lions and we can tell from a distance that they are agitated. We try to monitor them from afar if we see that they are angry and we use binoculars to check if they have wire snares around their necks or legs,” he said.

“I was once chased by a buffalo, which was pulling a log tied to a wire snare after breaking loose from poachers and in such circumstances we depend on dodging behind trees and immediately call veterinary doctors so that we sedate them and remove the snares,” he said. — @ncubeleon