Rhino poaching: Tactical first aid and kits for rangers

The #MBDShow hosted a Purple Rhino Party at Ridge Back Centurion for a 3 hour Telethon and, with the help of Jacaranda FM listeners, managed to raise up to R300 000! The money raised has gone towards tactical first-aid training and kits for rangers at the Kruger National Park. Read the press release below for more details.

In our continued and collective commitment to the fight against rhino poaching, StopRhinoPoaching.com and several of its project partners have joined forces to better protect rangers on the frontline in the Kruger National Park (KNP).

 

Patrol Teams, Special Rangers and Reaction Force Rangers face untold threats on a daily basis when carrying out their duties. Armed and aggressive poachers entering the park to poach rhinos don’t hesitate to shoot when intercepted by rangers, which makes tactical medical training with a strong focus on gunshot first aid a critical focus area.

 

The R300 000.00 raised by the Martin Bester Drive’s recent Purple Rhino Party will be utilized to invest in tactical first aid training for 200 rangers in the Kruger. CTM - home improvement and largest specialist tile and bathroom retailer in South Africa - has invested R200 000.00 into 145 trauma packs for this project. The individual trauma packs are kitted out to International Military standards, and include primary components for the treatment of gunshot wounds. These kits have been supplied at cost by tactical medical equipment specialists MedDev, who have contributed a saving in excess of R50 000.00 to StopRhinoPoaching.com’s trauma medical training projects to date.  ER24, South Africa’s premier private emergency medical care provider, will be conducting the tactical training at a special rate. ER24 Training has affiliations and accreditations on an international level in trauma, critical care, wilderness medicine and tactical medicine.

 

On 30 August 2015, DEA Minister Edna Molewa held a press briefing in which she discussed progress in the fight against rhino poaching. She announced that anti-poaching efforts were being undertaken in the face of a 27% increase in poachers entering the KNP to attempt to kill rhino. So far during 2015, there had been 1 617 positively identified poacher activities in the KNP, implying that 3 incursions occur per day, anywhere along the thousand kilometre-long KNP border. This means that there are 12 active poacher groups at any given time somewhere on the 2 million hectares of the KNP. At the time of her press release, the Kruger teams had made physical contact with heavily-armed poachers 95 times so far this year, close to three times a week.

 

In the first week of August this year, ER24 Training presented the first ever tactical first aid program to a group of rangers in the Park. They were taught a combination of life saving techniques aimed at emergent management of casualties and, should they be injured in the war on poaching, were also given tactical techniques to protect themselves and their patients while providing lifesaving care.

The class was put through their paces in many practical scenarios and taught how to get help to the injured in the quickest possible way.

 

 

 

 

ER24’s Jill Lithgow, Manager of Education, Training and Development shared her insights having spent time with the Kruger rangers. “We know that after undergoing this intense program we have given them a skill set in basic first aid and tactics that could mean the difference between life and death, and that is an honour and a privilege.” Jill went on to say that during a social visit in the Park they were honoured to meet a few of these special men who without fear and regard for themselves, work tirelessly to protect the wildlife.  “They go into the bush for days on end, knowing what is out there and what they could potentially face, because it is their bush and their animals and they take that responsibility to heart. It was exactly that passion and commitment that started a fire inside us. We have the knowledge, the equipment and means to give these incredible men a better chance of getting home every night and through this the program was born.”

 

Major General (ret) John Jooste, Chief Ranger for the Kruger National Park, expressed his appreciation for this support. “The rhino campaign has only just started and when times are dark friends are few. Under the leadership of Elise Daffue from StopRhinoPoaching.com, an alliance of five companies was brought together. The result is that another real and validated ranger need will be satisfied. This vital project helps keeping the ‘thin green line’ in place where it belongs – between the rhino and the poacher. If not for our rangers, the numbers would be far far higher. We salute you - for the rangers!”

 

“This collaborative effort combines the generosity, determination and heartfelt goodwill of our project partners and supporters on many fronts in recognition of the vital role that the Kruger rangers play in safeguarding the largest herd of rhinos left on earth,” says Elise Daffue, Founding Director of StopRhinoPoaching.com. “Rhino Poaching is not just an animal issue; it’s a human issue on so many levels. Looking after the survival of our rangers in the face of escalating aggression from poachers is paramount to the survival of our rhinos.”  StopRhinoPoaching.com, actively involved in the fight against rhino poaching, and has a national footprint for strategic funding of security initiatives and ranger support on the frontlines, will be managing the project.