Behind every rhino is a tale of bravery, loss

Lawrence Munro has been through the grinder recently. Yet, after two decades in the bush, he is adamant that becoming a game ranger “was one of the best decisions I ever made”.

Until quite recently, he was at the sharp end of the rhino poaching war in KwaZulu-Natal’s Hluhluwe-Imfolozi game reserve, overseeing the battle to protect this ancient horned species from armed poachers.

Last month, while working for the African Parks Network at Liwonde National Park in Malawi, he was impaled by a black rhino after he stepped in to protect a group of tourists. He was airlifted to a private hospital in Johannesburg for emergency treatment.

Munro is back at his desk in Malawi now and feels he is recovering well.

But animals are not the only danger. Such is the nature of the poaching war that, in an interview to coincide with World Ranger Day today, Munro declined to answer questions on the personal risks he and his family faced during his time as rhino security operations manager in KwaZulu-Natal.

Nationwide, more than 6,000 rhino have been shot and butchered in the past eight years, their faces hacked off with axes and pangas to rip away natural weapons that have helped them to survive for millions of years.

Now that weapon is just another commodity — and deadly liability.

But Munro remains firmly committed to “one of the most honourable professions in the world today” and scoffs at suggestions that rangers lead a glamorous lifestyle.

“There is, however, adventure. Game rangers thrive on it all over the world. Working on boats in rivers, hiking up steep mountains, climbing tall trees, riding horses through the bush, these are all within the job description and it is the time spent in the field that we relish the most,” he said.

Jabulani Ngubane, who started his ranger career 17 years ago, has risen through the ranks to become park manager for the combined Hluhluwe-iMfolozi reserve. He was reluctant to speak about the personal effects of the job.

“You might be in the middle of preparing dinner but if there is a job to be done, you just have to get out there and do it. I get death threats, but you have to march on. I don’t get intimidated easily and you have to believe in yourself as a person,” Ngubane said.

On the significance of World Ranger Day, Ngubane felt it was crucial to honour the memory of colleagues across the world who have been killed or injured in the line of duty — and also “to celebrate and protect the natural world we have been blessed with”.The Thin Green Line Foundation said at least 119 rangers have died in the line of duty in the past year.

Sean Willmore, president of the International Ranger Federation, said 42% were killed by poachers, 47% in work-related accidents and 11% by the animals they were protecting. 

“Behind each one is a name, a story, a family, a tale of bravery and loss,” Willmore said.