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

About the Wildlife Ranger Challenge:

Covid-19 has created a temporary safer world for Africa’s wildlife. But the floodgates are opening as the economic impacts of Covid drive more poaching. With tourism gone, the rangers who care for wildlife lack the resources to do their jobs. The Zinave National Park’s ranger teams are joining thousands of others across the continent taking part in the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a series of physical and mental challenges, culminating in a 21km virtual race on Saturday 18th September.

You can join them! Show your support and sign up to run or walk with the community game scout team from wherever you are in the world:  WildlifeRangerChallenge.org/registration. Now is the time to go the extra mile to support our rangers!

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Your contribution will help support 52 rangers and an estimated 275 livelihoods in and around the Zinave National Park in Mozambique. Every dollar we raise via JustGiving will earn an additional 25% match!

Your donation also helps to unlock vital funds for other ranger teams across Africa; the Scheinberg Relief Fund will donate the equivalent of 75% of the amount raised to the Ranger Fund!

The role of rangers:

Peace Parks entered into a Co-management Agreement with Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas for the development of Zinave in 2015. A project implementation team and senior park staff have been employed and the necessary equipment, such as vehicles and computers, bought to enable them to do their work. Twenty-four additional rangers, recruited from the local communities and graduated from a ranger course presented by the Southern African Wildlife College, were appointed as part of the Zinave ranger force, doubling the size of the park’s patrolling capability. The rangers have also been trained in strategic patrol planning and equipped with Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) tracking systems which they use to monitor wildlife numbers and other occurrences.  An ambitious rewilding programme has been embarked upon, with over 2150 animals translocated to date, and the first carnivores (a clan of hyena) introduced in 2020.

Ongoing effects of the pandemic:

Covid-19 has resulted in significant numbers of community members moving back from their migrant labour work with no future – this has led to significant increases in poaching and illegal natural resource use. However, after a cash-for-work programme was implemented through Peace Parks Foundation to assist in negating the negative effects of the pandemic at the end of last year, the poaching numbers decreased once again.

How support in 2021 could help:

The support raised by the Wildlife Ranger Challenge would be used towards boosting  morale and encouraging performance amongst rangers. Such support could be used to fund patrol equipment, supplements of rations and incentives.

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Tusk Trust Limited is a charity registered in England and Wales, No: 1186533, and a company registered in England and Wales, No: 11948023. 

In the US, “The Friends of Tusk Fund” donor advised fund is administered by CAF America (Tax ID 68-0480736)

Donors who pay tax in the UK can enhance their donation through Gift Aid, meaning that for every £10 raised, Tusk can recover an additional £2.50 for the cause from the UK Government.

US supporters wishing to make a tax deductible donation please click here.

Main photo courtesy of Peter Chadwick