CONSERVATION
BLACK MAMBAS, WHITE RHINO SOUTH AFRICA HAS SOME OF THE MOST DIVERSE AND EXOTIC WILDLIFE IN THE WORLD. BUT POACHING REMAINS A REAL THREAT, ESPECIALLY FOR THE VULNERABLE WHITE RHINO. STEPHANIE ROSS SPENT TIME IN LIMPOPO PROVINCE WITH THE BLACK MAMBAS, AN ALL-FEMALE ANTI-POACHING UNIT PUTTING THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE TO SAVE THESE BEAUTIFUL ANIMALS Words: Stephanie Ross • Photographs: Maurizio Martorana
98 Sawubona March 2017
ust after 11pm, I’m sitting in the back of a Land Rover deep in the heart of Balule Nature Reserve in northeast South Africa. It’s pitch dark. No torchlight, no starlight, only the beating heart of an area teeming with unseen wildlife – most of which is on the prowl for dinner. Less than 10m away comes the guttural roar of a lion, a sound so visceral I nearly jump out of my skin. A group of alarmed elephants maraud towards a nearby watering hole, leaving me feeling less than happy about sitting in the dark in an open-top car that suddenly feels very small and vulnerable. Luckily for me, I’m not alone. I am on patrol with the Black Mambas, the world’s first all-female anti-poaching unit. These women know every inch of the park, and they know that right now, the animals are more interested in each other than they are in us, which comes as something of a relief to me. The women are concentrating all their energies on spotting tell-tale signs of the one thing they know to be a real danger – poachers.
Balule is a 400km2 private nature reserve, forming part of Kruger National Park in Limpopo. This diverse area is one of the key tourist attractions in South Africa, with abundant wildlife and stunning natural beauty. The blue-tinged tips of the Drakensberg Mountains line the horizon, forming a snowcapped backdrop to undulating roads and red dust tracks. But Kruger is one of the largest poaching targets in southern Africa, an issue that is mercilessly robbing the country of its most prized assets. According to South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs, 1 175 rhino were killed in 2015 alone. Many experts, including those from the Zoological Society of London,
predict the species will be extinct within 10 years if poaching continues at current levels. There is some good news. In a rare move, China – the biggest market for ivory in the world – recently bowed to international pressure and announced a total ban by the end of this year – a move that could potentially save hundreds of thousands of elephants. But Asian demand for rhino horn continues unabated, fuelling a well-organised and deadly network that plagues countries such as South Africa.
Craig Spencer is Head Warden of Balule Nature Reserve and also heads up conservation charity Transfrontier Africa. After years on the frontline of the war on
poaching, he became convinced that a new approach was needed, and was determined to do something about it. “We’re never going to police the problem away – it will never be that simple,” he says. “These guys act the way they do partly through poverty, and partly because of an ‘us and them’ mentality between wealthy reserves and communities. So we need education, we need empowerment, we need
community involvement – and we need strong women to come in and turn the whole thing on its head.” Which is exactly what happened. Transfrontier Africa started the project in 2013, training six unemployed young women, kitting them out in second-hand military uniforms, and sending them into the bush. Today there are 36 Mambas, and the work has been so successful that they are the
recipients of several international conservation awards. All recruits have to undertake rigorous training that completely immerses them in the bush for 12 days. It’s tough going and there are no concessions to the fact that they’re women. They learn in-depth methods of tracking poachers and animals – and how to deal with both, should they ever come face-toface with them. In the past year alone the Mambas have successfully removed 231 snares, tracked down and destroyed three poachers’ camps and bush kitchens, obstructed 14 attempted poaching raids and arrested six poachers, as well as carrying out over 20 operations leading to the rescue, treatment or recovery of four elephants, five rhino, 16 buffalo, one cheetah, eight lions and numerous antelope. In an area where economic opportunities for women are extremely limited, being a Mamba offers a rare path. “It empowers us and shows we can do the same things as men,” says 23-year-old Leitah
Mkhebela. “Women would never be offered a job like this before, because people didn’t think we could do it. Now little girls are growing up with the mindset that they can do this too.”
Kedibone Malatja arranges her hair in front of a tiny broken mirror perched on the wall of the disused aircraft hangar these Mambas call home for three weeks out of every four. Like most other 24-year-olds, Kedibone is keen to look
Clockwise from top right: Stephanie Ross on night patrol with the Mambas and driver Bill.• 23-year-old Mamba Leitah Mkhebela. • While on patrol, the elusive white rhino appears. Opposite: Recent recruit 20-year-old Suzan Nestie.
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