SGT ANTON ZIMBA

Best Field Ranger at the Rhino Conservation Awards

‘This award is not only for me and my team but for our colleagues in conservation from all over Africa, including those who have lost their lives in the line of duty,’ says Anton, a sergeant in the anti-poaching unit at Timbavati near Kruger Park. He’s come a long way from his start at the reserve 20 years ago – as a labourer for a construction company doing refurbishments. He was offered a job by the warden, doing soil-erosion and alien-plant control, and soon completed a basic field-ranger training course. ‘I felt like a new man – full of energy, proudly in green uniform, ready to deploy.’ He describes his daily encounters with wildlife ‘like a book with many chapters’ and enjoys ‘hanging around with buffalo or elephant herds and singing melodies with the birds’. It’s not all idyllic – there’s the constant chance of attack by animals and intimidation by crime syndicates. ‘ What keeps me going is that I know I’m doing the right thing, which is to the benefit of the whole world.’