Heroes versus hunters
CALLING OF THE WILD: Prince William has announced a new award to honour safari park rangers. looks at the role they play.
NYONE who loves to hike in national parks or take game drives through wildlife reserves should appreciate the unsung work of rangers. Last week, World Ranger Day provided an opportunity to celebrate the heroes who take care of the 100,000 parks, reserves and protected areas visited by tourists worldwide.
Prince William, patron of conservation and community development charity Tusk, took the opportunity to announce the winner of a new award he has created to honour the individuals who provide the first line of defence in some of the world’s most precious and threatened regions.
In many cases, they even put their own lives at risk – not a thought we necessarily consider when admiring beautiful landscapes or observing animal behaviour from the comfort of a 4WD.
Statistics released by the International Ranger Federation suggest that Africa and Asia are the most dangerous continents for rangers, with 52 killed worldwide in the past 12 months. Many of these deaths have been linked to the growing poaching crisis, which rangers are instrumental in fighting.
Chosen by an independent panel of judges, the winner of the inaugural Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award was selected for the key role he has played in reducing elephant poaching in Kenya’s Northern Rangelands Trust conservancies by 38 per cent in the past four years.
Edward Ndiritu leads the anti-poaching units for the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), and is responsible for an area covering more than 44,000 sq km.
Edward is praised by his contemporaries for being a strategic thinker and has worked his way up through the ranks to garner respect from rangers across Africa. His work has resulted in the apprehension of road bandits and recovery of illegal weapons, and in 2014, Lewa was the only conservancy in Kenya not to lose rhino to poaching.
Prince William congratulated Edward for “the extraordinary contribution you and your team at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy have made towards both the protection of wildlife and increased security for the rural communities of northern Kenya”.
Edward will be presented with his official award, a medal commissioned by Tiffany & Co and a grant towards his work, at the Tusk Conservation Awards in London on November 24.
For more information, visit www.tuskawards.com and www. internationalrangers.org