About the Wildlife Ranger Challenge: 

The Southern African Wildlife College in collaboration with The Global Conservation Corporation (GCC) would like all of our friends to join us in supporting Africa's Field Rangers.

COVID-19 has brought tourism revenue to a halt across Africa.  Ranger teams are now uniting around the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a running race with one goal: to raise money to support thousands of their fellow rangers. Now is the time to go the extra mile—it’s time to race to support our rangers. Every dollar donated will be matched by the Scheinberg Relief Fund, doubling your generous contribution.

Donations made through this page will be used specifically in support of the continued employment and deployment of rangers and will qualify for the match. 

Furthermore, the Scheinberg Relief Fund will donate the equivalent of 75% of the amount each project raises to the Ranger Fund so additional grants may be made to those protected areas deemed most in need, doubling the overall impact of our donors' contributions.         

The role of rangers:

Rangers get hands-on conservation training and skills development in the Greater Kruger Area through the Southern African Wildlife College. Field rangers are exposed to relevant techniques such as ground-to-air patrols, the use of a K9, and the importance of community engagement.

The SAWC’s K9 Unit entails a five-member team who work directly with the Kruger National Park's operational teams as well as with rangers in surrounding reserves. The K9 team is on standby at all times to respond to poacher incursions or wounded animals, more specifically threatened species such as rhino.

How your donation will help:

Funding to support the salaries of the K9 Unit team would mean the survival of the unit. During the 17 live operations conducted in 2020 alone, 17 suspected poachers were arrested, nine weapons were removed from the system and 13 rhinos’ lives were saved. This would not be possible without the K9 unit which has become a vital asset to the college, to the Kruger National Park, and to surrounding reserves. 

With the dogs' increased training and off-lead capability—which means that they can track at speeds much faster than people can, and in terrain where even the best human trackers would lose spoor—the college’s K9 rangers have been of tremendous support to specialist counter poaching teams and rangers on the ground.

Funding the rangers at the K9 Unit also means that their families and extended families would be supported. Three of our team of five come from the local community that is adjacent to the Kruger National Park.

If these counter-poaching operations were to cease, it would overturn the successes achieved to date—especially with the K9 unit—and result in an increase in poaching. This poses a significant threat to target species such as rhino; the Kruger National Park being the hardest hit given its porous border with Mozambique.

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Tusk is registered with JustGiving in the UK (or GoFundMe.com in the USA). Our online fundraising sites allow you to create a sponsorship form with easy access for your supporters, knowing their money is going directly to Tusk. UK tax-paying donors can enhance their contribution by agreeing to Gift Aid their sponsorship (for every £10 you raise, Tusk will receive another £2.50 from the Government provided you are a UK taxpayer). US supporters wishing to make a tax deductible donation can do so via GoFundMe.com.