A ranger who spent eight years protecting animals from poachers has been crushed to death by a hippopotamus in South Africa. Sphamandla Mthembu, 31, was with three fellow rangers at the Mkhuze Game Reserve on Sunday, where they were protecting a herd of elephants and rhinos.
The Big Five reserve has black and white rhinos and abundant plains game, including giraffe, zebra, buffalo, kudu, and waterbuck. Lions were reintroduced to uMkhuze in 2013, and it is also one of the country’s premier birding destinations, with an incredible 420 species recorded here.
Despite the remaining challenges, it is essential to maintain sight of the progress made to date. The Rhino Protection Programme (RPP), funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery and implemented by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife through the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) Trust, is making great strides.
The RPP aims to develop and implement practical and well-considered methods of combating the poaching of rhinos, as well as disrupting the supply, demand, and illegal trafficking of its products. It is an ambitious and complex plan, which is delivering results. Thousands of rhinos previously hunted to near-extinction have been captured and translocated from HiP, including into Kruger National Park, which now has the world’s largest population of white rhinos.
Across South Africa, there is growing optimism that the scourge of rhino poaching can be turned around, with the number of rhinos rising steadily in most protected areas. Sadly, most of South Africa’s land has not yet been conserved as nature reserves. A wave of human development and industrial activity now engulfs the pristine savannahs and coastal forests that once defined the continent.
As a result, it is increasingly difficult to conserve the diversity of wildlife that once flourished in this unique center of biodiversity. Nonetheless, protecting wildlife remains a top priority for the people of South Africa. This is reflected in the fact that it is home to 10% of the planet’s plant species, 30% of its reptiles and 15% of its mammals. It is also a prosperous center of endemic species, with 80% of its plant species found nowhere else in the world. Protecting rhinos and other critical species throughout this fragmented conservation landscape requires advanced coordination, integration, and a multi-stakeholder approach that includes government agencies and local communities. The Mkhuze incident is a reminder of the risk that still exists to these vital ecosystems.
