iSimangaliso celebrates four victories against poaching in one week

iSimangaliso Wetland Park is celebrating four successes against poachers.

On the 25 June Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s Marine Conservation seized illegal fishing gill nets and poaching equipment in the Lake St Lucia Estuary section of the world heritage site.

They also found 18 illegal boats hiding in the estuary shoreline - and made them inoperative.

These boats had also been used to help the criminals commit crimes in St Lucia town.

On 28 June, a joint operation caught two poachers with a 303 rifle and silencer while trying to enter iSimangaliso’s Western Shores just off the Mtuba-St Lucia road.

During a patrol on the 29 June, Ezemvelo field rangers found tracks belonging to five suspected rhino poachers. The uMkhuze-based Anti-Poaching Unit responded to the report, and followed the tracks to the poachers who ran away.

While the poachers had escaped, a follow up patrol the next day found  a .375 rifle with a silencer along with an axe and a back pack - meaning that some rhinos were saved and they have one less gun to worry about.

On 30 June poachers had entered its southern section to check snares.

They hadn't expected to meet the park's anti-poaching unit and the SAPS Hluhluwe Stock Theft Unit, who caught them red handed with 4 fresh red duiker carcasses, a fresh nyala bull skin and a large quantity of meat.

Three suspects were arrested.

 “Poaching is a crime that will not be tolerated. If unchecked, not only could it result in the extinction of endangered species in our lifetime, it will also negatively impact on the local tourism economy, community jobs and livelihoods.  iSimangaliso accounts for 11,300 direct permanent tourism jobs and has created over 54,000 temporary jobs in the area,” said iSimangaliso CEO Andrew Zaloumis.