About the Wildlife Ranger Challenge: 

COVID-19 has brought tourism revenue to a halt across Africa, threatening the important work and livelihoods of the rangers who protect iconic African wildlife such as elephants, pangolins, rhinos, lions, and more. 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.

Your contribution will help support 37 rangers and an estimated 185 livelihoods in and around Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia.

The role of rangers:

Community Scouts by employed by Conservation Lower Zambezi patrol alongside Department of National Parks and Wildlife Officers in Lower Zambezi National Park. These patrols are paramount to protecting the wildlife and natural resources of the area. Key activities include foot patrols, aerial patrols, a K9 Unit, a Rapid Response Unit, all working together with the Investigation and Intelligence Units to respond to wildlife crime activity. 

In 2015 and 2016, the Lower Zambezi experienced unprecedented rates of elephant poaching (an Africa-wide trend), but thanks to ranger efforts, elephant poaching decreased by 70% in 2017, and decreased by an additional 28% and 15% in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

How your donation will help:

Additional funding will help rangers conduct the patrols necessary to ensure the survival and rehabilitation of the wildlife populations in the Lower Zambezi. Through data trends, it is clear that patrols on the ground coupled with the specialised units have led to significantly higher numbers of arrests and decreased the poaching levels in the Lower Zambezi National Park and surrounding areas. Maintenance of these patrols is crucial to the continued protection of wildlife.

Effects of the pandemic:

COVID-19 has affected operations in the Lower Zambezi in numerous ways. With restrictions placed around travel, the tourism industry has come to a standstill and funding from tour operators has been reduced or cut. This has resulted in an inability to support ranger operations and the department at full capacity. 

The economic impacts have also affected the communities in the areas surrounding the park, leading to mass unemployment and reduced salaries, which the organisation expects will result in the rise in poaching for subsistence. 

The officers in the field also experience the added risk of contracting the virus when on operation, particularly for the patrols which take place in busy areas (i.e within communities and on roadblocks etc.).

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Tusk is registered with JustGiving in the UK (orGoFundMe.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.

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