They trek through Kilimanjaro’s forests and the thick bush of the surrounding savannah. They trek if it is raining. They trek in the scorching heat. They trek so that they might find and capture poachers and other criminals. They are the hardy Kilimanjaro Foot Patrol Unit, a seven-ranger team that walks on regular patrols in
Late one morning in July, two Honeyguide field officers trekked along the perimeter of the famed Kitenden Corridor, which runs down through the western foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. The officers, as led by Pascal Simon, had simply set out to collect data on crop damage caused by elephants among the farms that border the corridor.
Photo Credit: Craig R. Sholley/ African Wildlife Foundation Running in a dead sprint and with spears raised, the warriors had closed within 100 meters of a lioness and her two cubs. The hunt had gone down a dry riverbed within Manyara Ranch. In minutes or less, the 40 or so young men could
Randilen rangers inspect bush meat beside suspected poacher (face blurred) Just as dusk eased over the plains of Randilen WMA, the rangers made one last loop on patrol. And that’s when they spotted him, a lone silhouette marching along the horizon. It took less than a minute for the Land Rover to track
From the air, the grey mass appeared like a hulking rock in the middle of the riverbed. But as he circled around the figure in his Microlight, Damian Bell knew immediately that the motionless mass below was a dead elephant, its tusks missing. In the last days of December 2014, Bell, the executive director
After a hard overnight rain, the orphaned baby elephant felt the chill of the pre-dawn darkness. Lost and alone, the tiny male pachyderm stood as easy prey for lions or other predators. Stray dogs had already started to harass him, biting and nipping at his legs and ankles. The newborn had wandered into Kakoi
Over the past week, a number of poaching incidents have plagued the unprotected areas primarily of the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem. Fortunately, Tanzanian officials have been holding several suspects in custody. Details are still being investigated, but below is a roundup of recent headlines. Poachers kill another bull in Lesimingori Mountains Just
Just after nightfall, the crack of gunfire echoed across the plains. A hunt and chase ensued in the darkness. Somewhere, another elephant died for its tusks. In a sad stroke of irony, poachers slaughtered a massive bull elephant near Esilalei Village on October 14, the same day of the momentous Elephant March in Arusha, a
Media surrounding the Tracker Dog Unit, a project of Big Life Foundation, has grown to the point where we can't always keep track and post of all the pieces in which Rocky & Jerry make appearances. Will they need an agent in 2015? Maybe. Last year, Maria Alomajan published her book, Dogs in Action: Working
Community-based conservation and wildlife protection in the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem just strengthened its ranks and expanded its reach. On May 2, the leadership of the newly established Randilen Wildlife Management Area officially deployed 15 fresh village game scouts to begin operations in the 315-sqaure-kilometer community conservation area, which borders the northeastern arc of Tarangire National Park.
