Patrolling mountain with man’s best friend
TWO YEARS ago, SANParks ranger Elstair Sylvester was attacked by a man at Sandy Bay who bit and stabbed him repeatedly.
There was so much blood, Sylvester said, it felt like he was standing under a shower.
He was airlifted to hospital after his partner called for backup, but it knocked his confidence and affected his fitness levels.
These days, Sylvester – now a SANParks environmental management inspector – and his colleague, Una Cloete, a visitor safety section ranger, have strapping German Shepherds at their sides.
The case against his attacker is still ongoing but Sylvester said it had helped having his dog Esko with him on patrol.
“These dogs are so clever, you develop such a bond with them, and they notice things you may not see.”
The Table Mountain National Park dog unit started in 2006 with five dogs and has grown to 13 thanks to donations from various sponsors. They are all German Shepherds – 12 males and one female.
Yesterday, the Cape Argus accompanied some of the rangers and their dogs on patrol along the jeep track at Devil’s Peak. They also visited the shooting range at Deer Park, a popular area for people to hide in. There was no sign of anything suspicious but, earlier this month, cyclist Goolam Hassan, from Lansdowne, was held up at gun and knifepoint while cycling on the Plum Pudding track. Two men stole his cellphone, and his bike, which was worth around R40 000.
Table Mountain National Park senior section ranger Hilton Blumeris said the dogs were invaluable in flushing out criminals. “It is like having an extra ranger.”
Cloete is one of four female handlers whose dog, Baxter, was originally a family dog donated to the programme. He will now attack on command.
“I didn’t even want to do the dog handling course because I was scared of dogs, having been bitten as a child, but I soon fell in love with Baxter,” Cloete said.
The rangers work either from 7am to 6pm, or 6pm to 7am and are deployed to various crime hot spots.
They also check for anyone hiding or living on the mountain and move them along.
Cloete said it was easy for people who had committed crimes to try to hide on the mountain. She said that with the summer season around the corner, security had been beefed up and they had already had joint operations with the police and law enforcement.
Darron Tobin, a visitor safety field ranger with the dog unit, said his dog Alie was one of the sniffer dogs used to find perlemoen left by poachers.
“Dogs have been my life. My dad bred dogs and it rubbed off on me.”
He said dogs usually worked until they were around eight or nine years old.
“They usually then retire to a good home – or sometimes to their handler.”