Cathy Dreyer, the first female head ranger of the Kruger National Park, speaks to Sheree Bega about earning the trust of black rhinos by reading to them and why the park’s hard-working rangers deserve the admiration of all South Africans.
I spent a lot of time boma training black rhino while I was in Addo [Elephant National Park] and throughout my career with the [] veterinary wildlife services unit and while in the Great Fish Nature Reserve.
Having spent so much time working with rhinos, it was impossible not to become passionate about them and to contribute towards their conservation and protection. I wasn’t exposed to any parks or reserves until I went to Addo to complete my experiential training and straight away knew that working in conservation and with wildlife was what I wanted to do. The unit is responsible for the capture and translocation of all wildlife throughout all the national parks and in Africa. It was here that I became involved in black rhino conservation and this experience shaped my career to focus on black rhino monitoring, conservation, translocation and protection.
If it were not for the dedicated rangers on the ground working tirelessly to protect them, often at great personal sacrifice to themselves and their families, rhino would no longer exist in Kruger. With new technologies and innovative strategies, we remain hopeful we’ll be able to stem the tide of poaching and offer rhinos the protection they need to once again thrive.
There’s a large amount of administration, which is not a favourite of any conservationist, but I’m lucky to call Kruger “home” and to work alongside so many skilled, dedicated and committed people and have the opportunity to learn from them.
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