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 40 rangers and an estimated 320 livelihoods in and around the Savé Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe.

The role of rangers:

Savé Valley Conservancy is home to one of Africa’s largest populations of black and white rhino, a healthy population of rare African Painted Dogs, and more than 300 species of birds. Critically endangered elephants and rhinos are monitored and protected inside the conservancy, as they are increasingly being poached for their tusks and horns by sophisticated criminal networks. 

To counter this threat, the SVC maintains a highly trained, well armed and equipped team of rangers. This Special Species Protection Unit operates independently and in tandem with the two-dozen private ranches that make up the Conservancy. Ranch scouts conduct daily patrols, snare sweeps and surveillance patrols, which offer daily coverage of each ranch and vital presence on the ground. However, many of the ranches are unable to support rangers because of the economic situation in Zimbabwe now compounded by the impact of COVID-19.

How your donation will help:

Additional funding will help provide critical resources needed to maintain the SVC rangers in the field and support anti-poaching operations. SVC has been successful in protecting its rhino population despite a spike over the past five years in poaching in Zimbabwe and across the continent. COVID-19 is exacerbating many of the threats facing rhinos and as a result in the reduction of tourism, significantly impacting the revenue needed to support the rangers. Additional funding will ensure that the conservancy can continue to protect its natural assets through the deployment of a highly trained, dedicated and effective ranger unit.

Effects of the pandemic:

Tourism in 2020 has been reduced to zero as a result of COVID-19 and the operating units in SVC have been significantly reduced and paused in some areas due to zero income. Many employees, including ranch scouts on the properties that make up the SVC, have been retrenched or are on reduced pay. This has led to a reduction in game scouts covering the vast area in the SVC. The SSPU covers an area of approximately 2,500km2, which correlates to one ranger per 67km2. By comparison, the neighbouring Malilangwe Trust, which manages a private rhino conservancy, has one ranger per 10km2. 

The black and white rhino herd is under significant threat—even more so now as incomes in the wider area are also impacted negatively from COVID-19—and the risk-reward proposition for rhino horn poachers works against the rhino. As a result, the socioeconomic backlash of reduced incomes puts more pressure on the existing flora and fauna. Donor funding has also been reduced, necessitating potential cuts in ranger salaries with the added possibility of retrenchments leaving the rhino less protected. This could lead to demoralization and may result in rangers resorting to poaching to supplement their income.

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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.