Pretoria - Spending up to 21 days and nights in the bushes while carrying a heavy backpack full of supplies in the face of dangers posed by marauding poachers comes with the territory for rangers.
On Saturday, a group of rangers showcased their strength and tenacity at the Hoedspruit Southern African Wildlife College in Limpopo, where they participated in the 21km race known as the Wildlife Ranger Challenge in the blistering heat of nearly 40°C.
The challenge required them to put on pairs of boots and full camouflaged regalia and then walk or run on a gravel road with at least a backpack laden with 22kg rice for men and 10kg for women.
The challenge in South Africa was part of the continental event which saw 1 500 rangers in 103 teams from 20 African countries taking part in the half marathon race.
Rangers in high spirits at the Southern African Wildlife College in Limpopo, where they participated in a 21km race known as the Wildlife Ranger Challenge in the blistering heat of nearly 40 degree celsius.
The idea behind the initiative was to raise funds to support the welfare of rangers, according to co-ordinators, African conservation charity Tusk and the Game Rangers Association of Africa.
The initiative was started in 2020 to fund-raise and support the welfare of rangers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and so far the campaign (has) raised over $16 million (about R303m).
It has also been able to connect hundreds of rangers from 24 African countries with many thousands of supporters from more than 90 countries around the world.
Game Rangers Association of Africa chief executive, Andrew Campbell, said the new thing about this year’s challenge was about hosting teams from various regions and making them run together.
Participants in Hoedspruit came from countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa.
Campbell said: “It is something that we are trying out this year and so far it has been a big success. We have a lot of interest in it. It is something that we will maybe do more in future. In the past they have run in their own parks with their own teams and this year is about exposing the teams to other parks and rangers.”
The race also highlighted the importance of teamwork among the rangers.
“Being a ranger you have to stick together. It is about having the spirit that says you can only go as fast and slow as your team members. We are encouraging the teams when we train them that when they go out for patrol they must always stick together.
“They must watch each other; we are responsible for each other as a team. We look after each other in terms of safety. We are trying to keep the same pace. If one of us falls off and is not feeling good on the day then we must adjust our pace,” Campbell said.
He said the idea of carrying 22kg and 10kg (bags) of rice came from their rangers’ training.
“The rangers often run with backpacks of 22kg or 50 pounds where they will often do an extended march to get fit. And the reason for that is that when rangers are deployed to do patrols they will be pulling a heavy backpack because they will be sleeping out in the bush, sometimes between seven and 14 days at a time. Sometimes for 21 days they will be carrying all of their provisions,” he said, The idea for carrying weight, he said, was to get fit.
“It is good training in terms of strength for your legs. The idea of using rice in this event is that it is something that is useful. In the past rangers would pack their bags with sand or bricks. This year what we did is that the rice got donated to the rangers,” he said.
Charlie Mayhew OBE, chief executive at Tusk said the campaign had grown exponentially and expressed gratitude to the philanthropic support provided by the Scheinberg Relief Fund, EJF Philanthropies and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
“We are truly proud of the movement we are all playing a part in. We now look to the future and will channel our efforts to scaling up the support and commitment provided to rangers across the continent for maximum impact,” he said.
Pretoria News