African Wildlife & Environment Issue 82

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

department with the Green Scorpions stand ready to work with the police to arrest the murderers of Timbavati’s head ranger, Anton Mzimba who was gunned down outside his home. She also said the following: “I want to pay a special tribute to him, as I met him in early July 2022 during my visit to the Association of Private Nature Reserves (APNR) on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park. Anton dedicated his life to conservation and to the promotion of sound relations between conservation authorities and communities living on the outskirts of protected areas. I take this opportunity to salute his personal courage and the commitment with which he tackled all his responsibilities. I will also be sending my sincere condolences to his wife and young family who have been left bereft without a father and a breadwinner through this heinous crime. “Mr Mzimba had 24 years’ experience as a field ranger and was the winner of the field ranger of the year award at the Rhino Awards in 2016. He was a key member of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF), and his murder only a few days ahead of the World Ranger Day on 31 July 2022, highlights the dangers that rangers face protecting our country's wildlife daily. Latest trends in rhino poaching show a move away from the Kruger Park to private reserves and Kwa-Zulu Natal where most rhinos have been killed this year. This makes it even more important for National Government to shift its focus to supporting provincial authorities and private reserves in the war on rhino poaching. The meeting in June at Timbavati aimed to cement earlier engagements through the integrated wildlife zone initiative and GKEPF to form a united front to combat wildlife crime and support rangers who are the frontline of anti-poaching efforts. “At this meeting Mr Mzimba spoke passionately about the daily struggles rangers face in the ground battle he and fellow rangers are leading. At the meeting DFFE explained our integrated approach which ensures analysts from the environmental enforcement fusion centre, the Green Scorpions, the SAPS, and the Hawks work together on focussed interventions with the aim of disrupting criminal enterprises. The number of successful arrests and prosecutions recorded over the last six months can be attributed to the continued successful collaboration between the law enforcement agencies, customs and exiles officials and the national prosecuting authority. “Partnerships between the public and private sector remain key to combat wildlife trafficking. In

Anton and his son Grant (Global Conservation Corps, photo Rhino Man)

rhinos, we are standing in the line where the bullet that was going to shoot the rhino, is going to hit us before it can reach the rhino. But, because we are passionate, we cannot say that we are backing down. If we were not here it would be just a dream, because they would have shot everything, everything would have disappeared, if we were not there.” https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Z5eN3S6Mic0&ab_channel=Leads2Business Just weeks before Anton’s death, I chatted with him in Hoedspruit, where the family had come through for a shopping trip. He was always so respectful and honest, and during our conversation he mentioned that he had been getting death threats. This had been ongoing for a long time, and he spoke about the desperation from the poachers and those affiliated to them, to have to resort to making death threats. He said that obviously they were doing something right and making it difficult for them. Corruption within the ranks is an ever-present possibility, and the crime syndicates know that if they can turn people in positions of power, they will have a much better chance of infiltrating secure setups. The fact that this was my last conversation with Anton, just makes what happened so much more difficult to accept. This is a stark reality of what is happening on the ground. The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE), Barbara Creecy, condemned the murder of Anton Mzimba. She said that her

21 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 82 (2022)