The details of rangers’ wide-ranging duties are not widely understood.

Their responsibilities incorporate anti-poaching operations and law-enforcement, but also include habitat monitoring, environmental education, fire management and aerial surveillance.  Rangers assist vets in treating injured animals, help prevent crop raids and carry out ecological research.  Rangers often work with sniffer dogs who are trained to detect ivory, rhino horn and pangolin scales.

Within their local communities – in which they are often deeply embedded – they also act as vital educators, community support leaders, emergency first responders and peacekeepers.

The work of rangers also directly relates to 13 of the Global Biodiversity Framework targets that have been set to conserve 30% of the planet by 2030.

Despite the global impact of their work, however, rangers remain insufficiently recognised. They endure poor terms of employment, inadequate and hazardous working conditions.  Many rangers work in harsh conditions with limited resources, facing threats to life from armed poachers and illegal wildlife trafficking networks. Violence, injury, disease and death are not uncommon in the line of duty, yet there is also a critical lack of insurance cover for rangers and their families: 50% of rangers have no life insurance. 

Tusk’s vision is for all of Africa’s rangers to be properly trained, paid, equipped and led, and the Wildlife Ranger Challenge is an effective way of raising significant funding to support rangers’ work.