The Balule Private Game Reserve in South Africa shares an unfenced border with the renowned Kruger National Park and is home to the Big Five and an abundance of other African wildlife. Like the rest of the Park, it is also home to a healthy population of highly endangered rhino which are under constant threat from poachers fuelled by an insatiable Asian market for rhino horn. In an effort to protect these animals and the other species on the reserve, a dedicated anti-poaching unit was established in 2013 with an unusual demographic makeup: its members are almost all female.
The “Black Mambas”, as they are known, comprise 32 young women and 2 men who together are tasked with ensuring the security of the reserve and are the first line of defense. Early detection and rapid response is the key to stopping an animal from being killed, so the team conducts surveillance during their daily patrols, which allows the armed units to remain within the reserve with the ‘assets’. Working with local communities to educate them on the importance and benefits of protecting rhinos and other illegally hunted species is a key part of their role at Balule.
“It is our belief that the ‘war’ on poaching will not be won with guns and bullets, but through social upliftment and the education of local communities surrounding the reserves. The Black Mambas are not only Anti-Poaching Rangers, they are role models who cherish life and do not want to live in a village of orphans and widows.”
The salaries of the Black Mambas are subsidised by the South African government but all other costs such as training, uniforms, equipment, food, vehicles, fuel and other daily operational expenses are the responsibility of the unit itself, which is run by the reserve management partner, Transfrontier Africa. Please visit their website to find out how you can help by making a donation, sponsoring a Mamba, raising funds or purchasing merchandise whose proceeds support the cause.
Photos by James Suter. Background image by Julia Gunther.