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
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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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CONSERVATION
a daily basis for signs that poachers have set a trap and will be back later to collect their bounty. If they encounter danger, they’re alone until the armed back-up unit can reach them. “It’s difficult being a woman in the bush,” says Leitah. “It’s hard labour, chasing poachers who are armed when we’re unarmed, but in our hearts we’ve told ourselves we have to protect these animals.” Sit with Leitah for 10 minutes and she will tell you tales of being chased by poachers both in cars and on foot, their lives in danger and their fears very real. And, since many poachers come from the same communities as the women, they see the human cost rarely reported in the papers. “Lots of people have suffered for this,” she says. “Lots of people have died, lots of women have lost their husbands. And to no benefit. Their kids have no father now. It creates nothing but hate.” her best. However, unlike most, she puts herself in danger on an almost daily basis for her job. “This is important,” she says. “We must find a way to keep these animals alive. Not just for us, but so that people outside South Africa can see the Big Five. What would we have if they are gone?” At dawn the next day I join Kedibone and her colleagues on
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darkness. They can sit like this for hours on end. Suddenly the silence is punctured by the radio crackling into life. Poachers’ torches have been spotted nearby. It’s time for the Black Mambas to jump into action. The driver cranks the engine and we’re off, snaking like our namesakes around the dusty winding tracks. The Jeep is old and the driver’s door falls open every time we hare round a
Mambas jump down from the car to search for “spoor” – evidence such as fresh footprints that would lead us to our human prey. But, in the end, the area is too vast and the poachers too well hidden, and we reluctantly have to give up the chase. Back at the camp, everyone is exhausted and a bit downhearted. Mamba Suzan nudges me. “They got away this time,” she says. “But they’ll be back. Next time, we’ll be ready.”
side of the road. They’re beautiful, and so close that I could reach out and touch their leathery grey hides. This single picture is what it’s all about – the exhaustion, the constant alert, the danger; all to stop someone with a gun coming along and orphaning these two babies for the sake of a piece of animal horn. The seemingly unfazed rhino family ambles along the road, and we follow at a safe distance. Then Mom decides it’s bedtime and
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through the bush, searching for signs of intruders, but also sending out a strong signal visible for kilometres around: we are here, and we are looking for you. The lights often pick up pairs of eyes glinting through
''I THINK I'M LOOKING FOR A WAY TO BE A HERO FOR YOUNG GIRLS.''>” morning patrol, a daily march around the perimeter of the reserve to check for cut wire and signs of illegal activity. The walk can be anything up to 16km, and temperatures soon soar as the sun rises. It’s hard, gritty work and there’s no telling what kind of dangerous animals – or people – the Mambas may encounter while on patrol. Why does she put herself through it? “It’s hard, but I’m proud to do it,” says Kedibone. She thinks for a while before adding shyly: “I think I’m looking for a way to be a hero for young girls.” The word “heroine” probably isn’t an overstatement when you realise the Mambas aren’t armed. They act as “bobbies on the beat”, the eyes and ears of the park, hunting down bushmeat kitchens and untangling inhumane snare traps, checking fences on
the work of the Black Mambas. This area of South Africa has some of the most dramatic and absorbing countryside I have ever seen, and its abundance of wildlife sets it apart. Behind the scenes, remarkable women are fighting every day to make sure that this precious resource is conserved for both you and me to enjoy, and for generations to come. “It has changed my life,” says Leitah. “Really changed my life.” All power to the Black Mambas, and to the rhinos they are working so hard to protect.
Clockwise, from opposite top left: Goodness Mslanga, 24, checks for poachers’ footprints. • A curious giraffe staring among the branches. • The armed response unit supports the Mambas in the field. • Enjoying the private swimming pool at Royal Malewane. • Spotting zebras on morning patrol. • 24-year-old Kedibone Malatja checks her reflection.
That evening I drive out with the Mambas as the sun sinks behind the spikes of the buffalo thorn trees. As we slowly pace the tracks and perimeter fences the girls criss-cross their searchlights
the darkness. There is a pause, followed by a small collective sigh each time they are deciphered as animal, not human. We reach a watering hole and cut the engine, part of the routine that allows the women to listen for gunshots or spot torchlight moving through the
left-hand bend, the headlamps barely giving enough light to spot and duck trees and bushes as they come into sight. The radio continues to fizzle with activity, co-ordinating our patrol and the armed response unit with updates and the suspected direction of the poachers. Our two vehicles circle the area the poachers have been corralled to, all of us caught in a strange, dark dance overseen by a remote operations room. We stop three times and the
The next night’s patrol brings a very different kind of chase, thankfully on a more laid-back note. We jump into the Land Rover at sundown and head into the bush. A slow turn around the perimeter shows nothing to suggest fresh poaching activity, so we snake our way into the interior. And suddenly, there she is. A female white rhino, with two babies by her side, stands at the
flops down in the bush, the two younger ones quickly following suit. We switch off the engine and wait alongside them, babysitting them for the next two hours to make sure no-one comes along to hurt them. As the sky explodes into starlight and the hyenas call in the dark, I deeply feel the privilege of being in this situation, so close to these beautiful and intelligent animals, and I know that the women feel it too. It’s a scenario that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for www.saasawubona.com 101