A black rhino and her calf in the Balule Nature Reserve. Protecting rhinos in South Africa is a costly but worthwhile exercise. Photo: Supplied
Cost-intensive and disciplined efforts in the fight against rhino poaching at the Balule Nature Reserve (BNR) in the Greater Kruger Protected Area Network area have resulted in a momentous achievement.
A number of land owners reside in the 55 000 hectare reserve, which shares an unfenced border with the Greater Kruger, and forms part of the Associated Private Nature Reserves bordering the park.
For the past two years, BNR has had no rhino deaths as a result of poaching.
Just four years ago, BNR experienced its worst bout of poaching, with 17 rhinos killed.
But the restructuring of BNR’s antipoaching strategy was not easy, head ranger Ian Nowak told The Citizen.
Not only was the reserve’s strategy labour-intensive, it was and continues to be a costly investment.
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The appointment of then-chairperson Sharon Haussmann resulted in BNR “taking ownership” of the problem, Nowak explained.
All security services were internalised, with the reserve realising they could not rely on anyone but themselves, he said.
Integrity testing policies were put in place, polygraph tests were conducted, rangers were militarised, K9 units were instilled, and proper kits and technology was purchased, which formed BNR’s zero-tolerance approach.
This process inadvertently rooted out any “bad apples” and “internal rot”.
“This way, if something goes wrong, we can get to the truth of what happened, and where to improve.”
Former BNR chairperson and Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation CEO Haussmann said poaching of rhino is “impossible to do as an outsider”.
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Another integral part of BNR’s anti-poaching measures involved dehorning rhino, which began in 2019.
“Prior to this, ranger forces were always in a permanent state of exhaustion, because you were literally fighting incursions and encountering poaching every day,” Haussmann explained.
“So once we managed to create an environment where the pressure was not as intense, we focussed on developing very good K9 units for tracking poachers. And the proof was in the pudding.”
The last time BNR lost a rhino was in 2019. Thanks to the reserve’s renewed strategy, the poacher responsible was caught and apprehended, and his trial is due to start soon.
This arrest was the litmus test that proved BNR’s strategy was successful.
Haussmann said the arrest had a “significant impact”, not only because the poacher played a critical role in the syndicate he was involved in, but also because it validated the efforts BNR was putting into protecting its rhino.
On average, it costs around R200 000 every year to protect just one rhino, Haussmann said.
Although this total varies, the cost of keeping up with the latest tech, using quality dogs, and dehorning rhino sees costs running into the millions, which largely comes from landowners and donors, according to Nowak.
In addition, rangers must be paid well, and trained.
“But what price do you put on saving a species?”
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Not all reserves can adopt anti-poaching strategies like BNR’s.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, but a winning formula needs to be for a reserve’s specific circumstances, to mitigate its weak points,” Nowak explained.
From a ranger’s perspective, Nowak said the most important part when it comes to protecting rhino was to make sure “the guy standing next to you is on your team”.
“Without information, poachers are powerless. You can’t wander around a 55 000 hectare reserve for days and hope to bump into a rhino. Everyone fighting has to be on the same team; otherwise, whatever money you spend on interventions will be wasted.”
Current BNR chairperson Vince Ryan said the reserve was now investing in uplifting the livelihoods of outlying communities in the Kruger area.
“The rhino horn is an expensive commodity driven into the underworld, and the price driven through the roof. We can only stop it if the value of the horn changes.”
Ryan said it was integral to instil the importance of protecting rhino before they become extinct, by getting communities to see value in the species.
“Open wildlife areas should be uplifting livelihoods to the best of our ability. By not educating and uplifting, syndicates are so powerful that they will be doing it, and become the Robin Hoods. That is our next challenge.”
He said the Balule Outreach Trust was created for this reason, where funds are contributed, and sustainability projects created, to improve livelihoods.
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Protecting the gentle giants, through methods some perceive as controversial, is an emotive topic requiring a “practical approach”, Ryan said.
“A lot of people think it’s walking around the bush with a rifle. There’s a lot more to it.”
For rangers on Nowak’s team that put their lives on the line to make sure rhino survive, the species has a very different meaning than people struggling to make ends meet in outlying communities.
A countrywide effort must be created to combat organised crime, a lucrative industry that continues to grow on our watch, Haussmann said.
Despite the odds seemingly against those in the thick of the war against rhino poaching, Ryan believes there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Starting small, such as getting the amount of rhino deaths below the 500 mark could allow the species to repopulate at more successful rates.
Rhino calves orphaned through poaching incidents, reintroduced into the wild sustainably could also yield positive results, Ryan said.
“But I think the war will go on for a long time.”
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