The Citizen writes that it used to be creatures with teeth and poisonous plants that SANParks rangers had to watch out for, but now their most dangerous foes are human predators armed with rifles and a shopping list for environmental contraband.  

This point was made during the celebration of World Ranger Day at the Darlington Dam section of Addo National Park in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday.  The event was tinged with sombreness as speakers, including Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs Barbara Thomson, remembered SANParks field ranger Respect Mathebula, who was gunned down in Kruger National Park last week.  Mathebula was the first SANParks ranger in more than 50 years to be killed by poachers.  Camdeboo National Park manager Nick van der Walt observed:  “It is war out there.  Rangers today are trained in strategy, managing crime scenes and the technology used at these scenes.  It’s a very different world to when we used to deal with wire traps or theft of wood.”

• Read this report by Amanda Watson in full at The Citizen

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