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 31 rangers and an estimated 155 livelihoods in and around Mana Pools in Zimbabwe.

The role of rangers:

Rangers at Mana Pools National Park (2,196 sq.kms) patrol and run their antipoaching operations along the magnificent Zambezi River and through the wooded, grassland floodplains, and in the hinterland thickets of the Zambezi Jesse bush and mopane forests of this famous UNESCO World Heritage Site. They face armed poachers who have illegally entered the Park for ivory, pangolin, lion, fishing and bushmeat. Rangers are also vital in supporting the very popular Mana Pools tourism-based economy which in turn  supports nearby communities.  

How your donation will help:

Your donation will go towards absolutely key aspects of keeping the wildlife protection effort underway:

*Regular patrolling and all-vital anti-poaching operations: fuels

*Rangers will receive a six-month dry ration food pack as well as patrol equipment such as boots and rucksacks

*Food security for ranger patrols enhanced through vegetable garden replanting and maintenance

Effects of the pandemic:

The pandemic is starting to hit home in no small way in respect of the rapid rise of poverty levels. Usually, the protected areas generate livelihoods and gender-equal skills-learning opportunities for ranger communities through ecotourism as well strengthening those households’ resilience to risk. Communities usually employed in Mana's popular photographic tourism industry  have been significantly compromised. 

The rapid rise in snaring activity for bushmeat, in illegal gold panning and mining on the southern boundary,  and other desperate activities point clearly to COVID-19 and the devastation it is leaving in its wake.

Fortunately, wildlife protection has been designated an essential service since the beginning of Zimbabwe’s COVID-19 lockdown and Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has maintained its patrolling and anti-poaching operations in its protected areas. Continued funding is at risk, however, for ranger salaries and resources such as solar powered infrastructure for water and energy, food security through vegetable gardens, patrol rations and equipment, boat and vehicle maintenance, fuel, and ongoing training in anti-poaching and spatial monitoring.

------

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.

You can follow campaign updates on social media with #ForWildlifeRangers or find out more at WildlifeRangerChallenge.org.