Volunteer rangers save Dassie from snare

During one of the Sugarbush Ridge Coalition (SRC) rangers and volunteer rangers’ snare patrols on November 9, they found a defenseless Dassie caught in one of many illegal snares in the area.

“They, unfortunately, found a lot of animals that had succumbed to the snaring and then this old Dassie,” Georgina Lackinger from the South African Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (SAWRC) shared.

SRC Rangers Thabiso Tlisane and Mokete Seeng along with volunteer rangers Peace Monnapula and Jeffery and Willard Kazembe immediately took action.

“The poor thing was comatose. So Peace carried him out of the Kloof and I rushed him to the vet,” explained Georgina. She proceeded to treat his wounds and the following day Georgina exclaimed that he had a good night.

“He has eaten, pooped, and is doing the right things, I will monitor him for a few days to check for brain damage. But so far so good,” she added optimistically.

Tony de Castro from the SRC explained that over the past two weeks, their two rangers and the SAWRC field rescue technicians have conducted three days of combined operations in the Kenmare and Muldersdrift-se-loop Kloofs and removed over 400 snares.

“Many dead animals [various species] were found in the snares and one Dassie was rescued and is in the expert care of Georgina’s SAWRC team and recovering well. Illegal overnight camping, fires, snaring, cutting of indigenous trees, littering, and water pollution are all completely out of control in these kloofs and increasing exponentially,” he stated.