Documentary series honours wildlife rangers’ dangerous work

A new documentary series hailing the work of wildlife rangers and featuring Britain's Prince William, who has made their efforts one of his main campaign causes, will be broadcast on Friday.

The six-part series Guardians, which premieres on BBC Earth's YouTube and social media channels, was the British heir-to-the-throne's brainchild and aims to show the perilous work rangers undertake to protect the planet's most threatened environments, said his organisation, which headed up the project.

"The reality is protecting our natural world has become one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet. We need to understand and recognise nature’s guardians, and the critical work they do," William said.

"Every day they take huge risks as nature’s frontline of defence, standing between poachers and endangered species, supporting sustainable human-animal coexistence and fighting habitat loss."

The series was developed by United for Wildlife, founded by William and his charitable foundation, and last year committed to a five-year financial package to provide 10,000 rangers across Africa access to affordable insurance cover under its Nature Protectors initiative.

William has frequently spoken about the illegal wildlife trade which United for Wildlife said is thought to be worth up to $20bn (R357bn) annually and is linked to violent crime, corruption and trafficking.

In 2022, the prince paid tribute to Anton Mzimba, a ranger shot dead at a nature reserve in SA. 

Reuters