The constant war against poaching
By Caroline Edmonds | Warning: graphic images
After a tour of the sanctuary, one of our guests spotted an injured buffalo not far from Tau camp where we live. His sharp eyes noticed what looked to be a bad neck injury.
We immediately alerted the Dinokeng rangers, and one of our staff kept the buffalo in his sight until they arrived.
Within the hour, Matt, Dinokeng’s head ranger, arrived with the vet, and we headed off to find the buffalo and dart him to take a closer look.
Once he was darted, Matt used his drone to follow him until the sedative took effect. When we got to him once he was safely asleep, we saw that the poor animal had been caught in an illegal snare and the thick wire was cutting into his neck.

A wire snare set to trap animals which are then used for food or the traditional medicine trade.

Any of you who are following the Miracle 5 cheetah cubs know that their mother also died in this horrendous way. With our financial support, Dinokeng’s APU is able to put more boots on the ground to search for traps and snares and buy more sophisticated equipment to help combat the poachers. We may have won this fight, but poaching is a continuous war that we maintain hope to overcome one day.