{"id":43804,"date":"2024-11-13T11:25:24","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T10:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9d71f530-fc7c-46ae-9217-3dff4d2ee0b5"},"modified":"2024-11-13T12:27:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T11:27:29","slug":"ive-been-chased-by-elephants-and-buffalos-and-one-time-i-woke-up-surrounded-by-14-lions","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/ive-been-chased-by-elephants-and-buffalos-and-one-time-i-woke-up-surrounded-by-14-lions\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019ve been chased by elephants and buffalos, and one time I woke up surrounded by 14 lions\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

African rangers such as Benson Kanyembo face dangers every day as they carry out their vital work. Now a new initiative has been set up to help support them, says James Fair <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 13 November 2024 at 10:25 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Benson Kanyembo has been working as a ranger for 25 years, initially with Zambia\u2019s Department of National Parks and Wildlife and now for the NGO Conservation South Luangwa, and he says he faces deadly risks on a regular basis.<\/strong><\/p>

\u201cThe dangers range from armed poachers to the animals you are protecting,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve been chased by elephants and buffalos, and one time my team and I woke up to find ourselves surrounded by 14 lions.\u201d If you don\u2019t have the right footwear, snakes and scorpions are another threat.<\/p>

Africa\u2019s rangers are at the frontline of the battle to save the continent’s wildlife, and that\u2019s why the conservation charity\u00a0Tusk<\/a>\u00a0has set up a new initiative in partnership with the Game Rangers Association of Africa to give them better financial protection.<\/p>

Benson Kanyemo has been working as a ranger for 25 years\/Tusk Conservation Symposium <\/figcaption> <\/figure>

The plan is to offer 10,000 rangers across the continent accident, medical, evacuation and life insurance, plus additional training and leadership skills.\u00a0<\/p>

Part of the idea, says Tusk CEO Nick Bubb, is to help raise standards within the ranger profession. \u201cUltimately, we want to drive up standards within the industry, making it more appealing for people as a career,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s better if it\u2019s seen as a good job, not a dangerous one.\u201d<\/p>

\"Benson
The initiative will offer 10,000 rangers across the continent accident, medical, evacuation and life insurance, plus additional training and leadership skills (pictured: Benson Kanyembo with a team of rangers)\/Tusk Conservation Symposium <\/figcaption> <\/figure>

Launching the initiative at the United for Wildlife global summit, HRH The Prince of Wales \u2013\u00a0whose Royal Foundation has provided financial backing \u2013\u00a0said it would give rangers and their families greater reassurance for the sometimes perilous work they do. \u201cWe cannot protect our planet without them,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>

Benson Kanyembo will regularly have to send a team out into the field with the prospect of encountering armed poachers, people who could be killing animals for their meat, though \u201c95 per cent of the time, they are poaching for the illegal wildlife trade,\u201d he says.<\/p>

But he had wanted to do this job since he was 10 years old, and nothing has ever deterred him (not even being wrongly charged with an offence for which he served three months in jail and for which he was never charged) from his chosen career.<\/p>

The hope now is that Tusk\u2019s new initiative will encourage even more Africans to become guardians of its rich biodiversity.<\/p>

\"\"
\u201cWe cannot protect our planet without them,\u201d said HRH The Prince of Wales at the United for Wildlife global summit in Cape Town\/Kensington Palace and Andrew Parsons <\/figcaption> <\/figure>

Find out more about the Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>

Main image: Benson Kanyembo \u2013 Tusk Wildlife Award Ranger Winner\/Tusk Conservation Symposium<\/em><\/p>

More wildlife stories from around the world<\/strong><\/p>