Southern African Wildlife College - Wildlife Ranger Challenge 2022
Southern African Wildlife College is taking part in the Wildlife Ranger Challenge to raise awareness of the role of 20 rangers working to protect South Africa's Greater Kruger Area ecosystem, and support an estimated 100 livelihoods.
My story
Rangers are Africaโs unsung heroes. They donโt just fight poaching - they are conservationists, teachers, community support workers, leaders and much more.
The Wildlife Ranger Challenge, organised by Tusk and culminating on 17th September, celebrates their many roles, and is raising much-needed funds to support their work.
The Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) is registered as an accredited private, independent non-profit higher education and training institution specialising in conservation education, training and skills development.
The WRC has meant a great deal not only in terms of financial support, but also boosting the morale of rangers. Without funding, the SAWC would not have continued its vital work, such as training field rangers from across the region, to help inform industry on best practice, and support the greater Kruger area through its counter poaching units.
Support in 2022 will ensure training of field rangers across southern Africa and beyond. It will also further train and develop the use of canine capacity to ensure the protection of threatened species, such as rhino, in the greater Kruger National Park, the College's direct area of operation. This includes training of dogs in detection and counter poaching skills and being directly involved in counter poaching operations. Aerial patrols will continue, monitoring and counter-poaching support, flying an average of 80-100 hours per month. This support will impact wildlife poaching, weapons being removed from the system, and successful arrests of those involved in wildlife crime.
Give today, and the Scheinberg Relief Fund will match every dollar donated, amplifying your impact. Follow campaign updates on social media with #ForWildlifeRangers
Total fitness activity
42 km covered
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ ๐๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐โ๐๐ ๐๐ #๐ ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฌ!
May 22, 2023, 2:25:24 PMOver the next three months our 2023 team, Clive, Excellent, Kirah and Tebogo will be training and preparing for race day on the 16th September! We invite you to follow along on their journey which we will be sharing with you across our social pages. The Wildlife Ranger Challenge aims to raise funds for frontline conservation efforts across Africa, whilst generating awareness of the challenging and increasingly diverse role of wildlife rangers and their vital role in achieving global biodiversity targets. Find out more about this years event on our website - https://wildlifecollege.org.za/the-wildlife-ranger-challenge-returns-for-2023/ #ForWildlifeRangers #SouthernAfricanWildlifeCollege #TeamSAWC #WildlifeRangerChallenge
Support a unique conservation initiative empowering and uniting wildlife rangers across Africa.
May 2, 2023, 9:35:12 AMWildlife rangers operate on the very frontline of conservation across Africa, routinely making personal sacrifices to put their lives on the line to protect the continentโs magnificent wildlife and habitats. Yet they are so much more than just law enforcement officers: rangers are teachers, community support workers, mediators, researchers and so much more. Unfortunately, resources are not keeping pace with the scale of the challenges they are trying to tackle. For the fourth year running, the Wildlife Ranger Challenge sets out to redress this, by raising critical funding to cover operating costs, including salaries and equipment, for over 10,000 rangers. This will help them protect threatened wildlife and some of the continent's most vulnerable areas, while also protecting communities and securing coexistence with wildlife, as well as providing for their own families.
Wildlife Ranger Challenge Complete!
Sep 28, 2022, 8:11:05 AMOn 17 September our 4 rangers headed out on an epic 4 hour 25 minute journey that took them out into the wild and back again to their ranger camp. Although it was a cool start to the day, the temperature soon soared to well over 35 degrees Celsius! Well done to each of our men for persevering and finishing the race - we are so proud of you! Thank you to everyone who helped on the day and supported them so they could be safe on the reserve as well as providing water and sustenance as they went along. Thank also to all our donors and supporters who ran for us - we appreciate you so much. See you all next year!
Distance: 21 kmTraining for the Big Race
Sep 12, 2022, 11:53:39 AMOur 4 rangers, Clive, Dian, Jason and Reason, have been hard at work preparing themselves mentally and physically for this Saturday's race! In order to tackle 21 km carrying a 22km backpack, you have to be not only physically fit but also able to push through when you you're thinking "I cant do this!". With the help of the Ranger training team at the College, our 4 rangers a feeling fit and ready to to tackle this challenge head on! They completed a practice challenge a few weeks ago, where they covered the 21km distance, backpacks in tow in order to help prepare them for what they will face. Their route will be through the game reserve on which SAWC operates. They will begin their challenge at 7am and will to complete the challenge in the shortest time possible! "Thank you to everyone who is supporting us!! We couldn't do this with you."
Distance: 21 km๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐?
Sep 11, 2022, 6:46:04 PMOur ranger team participating in this years #WildlifeRangerChallenge managed to do 186 collectively!! Let us know how many you can do and if you are joining our team, wherever in the world you may be, for the virtual event held on the 17th September in aid of Ranger teams all over Africa, patrolling protected areas and protecting our vulnerable wildlife. You can support the SAWC team by making a donation here or by sharing this page with your network! Thank you for supporting the #RaceForWildlife and #TeamSAWC!
๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ฝ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐?
Sep 11, 2022, 6:35:13 PMOur ranger team participating in this years #WildlifeRangerChallenge managed to do 242 collectively. Let us know how many you can do and if you are joining our team, wherever in the world you may be, for the virtual event held on the 17th September in aid of Ranger teams all over Africa, patrolling and protecting our vulnerable wildlife. You can support the SAWC team by making a donation here or by sharing the link with your network! #SouthernAfricanWildlifeCollege #WildlifeRangerChallenge
Greater Kruger Area - Southern African Wildlife College
Jul 14, 2022, 7:17:58 AMThe Southern African Wildlife College is registered as an accredited private, independent non-profit higher education and training institution specialising in conservation education, training and skills development. It was established in 1996 by the World Wide Fund for Nature - South Africa (WWF-SA) in close cooperation with interested and affected parties in southern Africa. These included national and provincial government departments, other conservation agencies and organisations, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The SAWC is a private applied learning institution, which supports the conservation sector by testing for best practice via its projects and operational units.
