By KT Reporter
As Uganda joined the rest of the world to mark the international labor day, the Uganda Wildlife Authority said it is appropriate that rangers and conservationists are honored for tirelessly protect our wildlife and ecosystems. The national celebration for the Labour Day were in Nakapiripirit district.
President Museveni was the chief guest at the celebration under the under the theme “Consolidating on the Gains of the PDM for Increased Productivity & Inclusive Job Creation,”
Bashir Changi, the Manager for Communications at UWA said the rangers are the foot soldiers who do real conservation. “We recognize their vital role in sustainable development and preserving Uganda’s natural heritage.
Kidepo Valley National Park is the national park in the Karamoja region of Uganda. It is located in the northeastern part of the country, near Karenga in Kaabong District, close to the borders of Kenya and South Sudan. Rangers have been recognized in Uganda’s struggle to protect wildlife in all the National Parks and games reserves in Uganda.
The number of elephants, buffaloes and hippos has increased in the last several decades. That is reversing years of decline caused by poachers and encroachment on wildlife areas. Officials attribute this to Uganda’s protection efforts.
Working as a ranger comes with risks, especially when combating the lucrative logging business, wildlife traffickers and hunting wildlife for bush meat or generally what is known as poaching. Protecting wildlife and other natural resources requires engaging and empowering local communities, ensuring compliance with rules, and ongoing monitoring and research.
At the front line of these efforts are rangers. Studies have found that despite their critical role in maintaining the integrity of parks and protected areas, rangers across the world are exposed to precarious employment conditions and hazardous work environments.
Working as a ranger In Uganda
Sergeant Silver Ekwir is one of the frontline rangers at Kidepo Valley National Park. Asked about working as ranger in one of Uganda’s, he testifies that he didn’t not know anything about conservation when he applied for the job. Neither did he know about the beauty in Uganda ecosystem some of it found in parks like Kidepo National Park and other national parks.
“I didn’t know that the geography that we study in class is actually found in Uganda. But when I joined UWA, I realized there is that beauty and geography in Uganda.” he said.
Asked to describe beauty, flora and fauna in in Kidepo Valley National Park, Ekwir pauses for a while then answers “I cannot describe it. Unless if you see it yourself. You know Kidepo is one of the unique parks. If it is a dry season, it is really dry. If it is a rain season it is really wet. And it is very unique in its nature” he said.
It is home to the big five which include the African Elephant, Lions, leopards, rhinos, and the cape buffalos. Thanks to the dedication the likes of Sargent Ekwir, the population of these species especially herds of buffaloes stand.
Ekwir says working as a ranger is not an easy job. “It is not just like let me wake up and do this. You have to plan everything. And you have to take orders from our superiors”
While out on patrols, rangers are not only looking for signs of wildlife but signs of illegal activity too. Poaching and the illegal wildlife trade are the most immediate threat to many of Uganda’s critical species.
Poaching isn’t just limited to animals either, illegal logging destroys the wildlife habitat and biodiversity of the region.
On a daily basis, rangers will record the signs and location of illegal activity, as well as remove snares and traps that they find along the paths they patrol.
When vultures aid rangers to track and trace poachers
One of the toughest work of a ranger involves tracing and locating exact areas where illegal activities like laying snare traps is taking place. Rangers sometimes rely on coordinates and according to Ekwir, “drones on air”-meaning the vultures flying in air over the national park.
“You know when an animal is in a dying condition and it is trapped in a snare of wheel trap, a vulture can detect that this one is almost dying or it is already dead. So instead of landing first, it has to call the rest of the team. Signaling that we have something here,” he explained
He has lost count of the number of times he and his colleagues were successfully guided by vultures to trace trapped animal or remote areas where poachers were laying wire snares
. “There was a time when we were deployed for a seven-day patrol. We went to Karua. And it is a place where water is really scarce. And these are places poachers also go because the animals relay on the same places for water.” he said
“So when we reached the area, we found the foot prints of the poachers. And we had to track them back to the water point. So it is still through the vultures that we were able to locate their location”
Working as ranger is Uganda is a do or die matter.
Apart from facing poachers who are sometimes armed with sophisticated weapons, they equally risk stepping wires snares and traps. Ekwir told Uganda Radio Network that they have lost many rangers of gunshots fired by poachers.
“We have got rangers who have got disabled because of wheel traps because of the nature of the work. We always advise that when you are moving, avoid animal tracks. Because poachers lay the traps in animal tracks” Ekwir narrates.
He affirms that ranger work is not an easy job. “It is a job that requires a lot of commitment. You just have it in your heart that I love conservation. And because I love conservation, I to take whatever it takes to protect the animals” he said.
Ekwir says a zebra also found in the Kidepo Valley National Park is one of his favorite animals. “You know they have a lot of power when it comes to preying. A lion cannot easily attack them. It has one of the best kicks. The best kicks. Even you when you comes close to a zebra, you better be careful because it can kick at any angle,”
Ekwir’s worst moment as a ranger
Seeing a close workmate going down because of a bullet from a poachers left bad memories working in the park day and night. “It was one of the craziest encounters. Because we lost one. And one of colleagues was injured and up to this moment he is paralyzed” says Ekwir.
It has been said that one of the challenges for the rangers in Uganda is that they are too few compared to the tasks they face daily.
“Our numbers. We are not good enough to cover all the parks. A park is not something that you can cover in one day. We need much more number of rangers. I think currently we are standing at 4000. It is very small number compared to the ten national parks in Uganda” he said.
Uganda Radio Network has previously interviewed, Kulu Haruna Kirya a law enforcement warden at Murchison Falls National Park.
He confirmed that there is need to increase the number of foot rangers in all the national parks. Kirya, who has worked in conservation for over 35 year also suggests need to enhance the ranger’s pay. He equally agrees that work of rangers is not easy.
“The work of a ranger is not very easy. It is a tough one but when you love it, you have that heart of a ranger, it is very good work. It is simple, it makes you physically fit. An immediately you love wildlife, you enjoy being a ranger” says Kirya who has worked in all the parts in Uganda-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
