Anton Mzimba, the lead forest ranger of a South African reserve, had received multiple death threats. But he tried not to heed the danger warnings and reminded himself that by protecting rhinos he was working for the greater good, according to an interview he gave last year.
“What I do, I do not do for myself,” said Mr Mzimba in the interview in 2021. “I do this for the world, for my children’s children, so that one day, when I hang up my boots – if I retire, when I die – will enjoy nature.”
Africa’s close-knit conservation community has been on the wane since Mr Mzimba was gunned down in front of his family on July 26. His wife was also shot, but survived. The killing has raised concerns that criminal syndicates are becoming more brutal and violent in their efforts to secure illegal wildlife products.
Mr Mzimba, 42, was the chief keeper of Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, a 206 square mile protected area in the Greater Kruger landscape, home to elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, leopards and cheetahs. In an environment ravaged by poaching and corruption, Mr. Mzimba known as imperishable – a faithful conservation.
“If you want to talk frontline, talk to Anton Mzimba,” said Ruben de Kock, operations manager for LEAD Ranger, a professional training group. “He was the ultimate forest ranger.”
Available by phone, Brig. Selvy Mohlala, a spokesman for the police unit leading the investigation into Mr Mzimba’s murder, said that “we do not know whether the attack had anything to do with his work or personal life.”
But given the number of serious job-related threats against Mr. Mzimba and his efforts to thwart crime syndicates, Andrew Campbell, the director of the Game Rangers’ Association of Africa, said this seems to be the most likely motive.
mr. Mzimba’s dedication to defending wildlife “absolutely” appears to have been a factor, said Edwin Pierce, director of Timbavati. “Anton was a man of integrity, a man who did not shy away from protecting rhinoceroses,” he said.
“If syndicates have continued with this, it means Anton was a significant threat to them,” added Mr Pierce.
Rangers around the world risk their lives every day, but those in Africa are particularly at risk. Elephant and rhino poachers are always armed, and in politically unstable places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, militias often clash with rangers.
Of the 565 African rangers known to have died on the job since 2011, 52 percent of those killed were homicides, Campbell said. The death toll has also increased, he said, reaching a record high of 92 rangers last year, half of whom have been blamed for murder.
The death of Mr. However, Mzimba stands out as “an escalation from the norm,” said Mr. Campbell. “Now these syndicates feel comfortable when they literally come in and do mafia-esque hits.”
It is also likely, added Mr. Campbell admitted that Mr. Mzimba was targeted due to his high profile in the conservation and conservation community. He was named Field Ranger of the Year and is featured as the lead actor of an upcoming documentary film, ‘Rhino Man’. He also served as a technical advisor to the Global Conservation Corps, where he helped establish a program that now connects 10,000 South African students a week to their natural heritage.
“Anton was one of the nicest, most gentle and loving people, but he was also a warrior,” said John Jurko II, co-director of Rhino Man. “He was there to defend these rhinos from serious threats from poachers.”
Born in Mozambique, Mr. Mzimba moved with his family to South Africa in search of better opportunities. His career in conservation started by chance, when a job removing invasive plants brought him to Timbavati. Mr. Mzimba was just 17, but his work ethic caught the attention of the reservist, who offered him a full-time job.
Within ten years, Mr. Mzimba has become head of the forest ranger corps in Timbavati. “This was a person who really took it from the bottom up,” said Mr De Kock.
Mr. Mzimba often said that he considered protecting wild animals his duty as a Christian, and he was also known for his loyalty.
When Mr. Mzimba started working in Timbavati in 1998, the poachers he arrested were mainly poor men who sneaked into the reserve to hunt animals for food. However, by the 2010s, organized crime syndicates were aggressively seeking rhino horns, which were in high demand in China, Vietnam, and other Asian countries. “We went from poaching for our own use and killing animals for meat to killing animals for money,” Mr Mzimba said last year.
As of 2017, South Africa was home to 75 percent of the world’s remaining 23,562 white and black rhinoceroses, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. At least 9,353 rhinoceroses in South Africa have been killed for their horns in the past 13 years. Although poaching has decreased from 1,215 lost rhinoceroses in 2014, it remains a major problem: 451 rhinoceroses were killed last year.
“I’d say we’re holding the line,” said Elise Serfontein, the founder of StopRhinoPoaching.com, a South Africa-based conservation nonprofit. “But the effort to maintain that line comes at a huge financial cost, and a huge physical and mental expense for rangers and reserve management.”
Rangers regularly receive death threats for their jobs, said Mr. Pierce, and Mr. Mzimba was no exception. “The poaching syndicates tried to break him emotionally and psychologically, and he wouldn’t break,” said Mr. De Kock.
Last spring, Mr. Mzimba opened a harassment file with the local police to report multiple threats related to his work to protect wildlife. “We hoped that those who threatened Anton’s life would be arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder,” said Mr. pierce.
According to mr. Pierce and Mr. de Kock heard from mr. Mzimba in May that his name was then on a more serious chart. Mr. de Kock and his wife offered to let Mr. Mzimba and his family stay temporarily at their home in another part of the country, but Mr. Mzimba declined, telling Mr. de Kock that he was close to his fellow rangers. had to stay.
According to Brigadier Mohlala, the police spokesman, two people arrived at Mr Mzimba’s home on July 26, claiming their vehicle was broken and asking for water. Mr. Mzimba was outside working on his car and when his son went to fetch the water, they shot Mr. Mzimba. They also shot his wife, who is still in hospital.
No arrests have been made, Brigadier General Mohlala said, “but it’s safe to say we haven’t stopped the investigation.”
Mr. Mzimba is not the first known conservationist to be killed in what appears to be a targeted murder. For example, in 2017 Wayne Lotter, co-director of the PAMS Foundation, an anti-poaching group in Tanzania that had been investigating the ivory trade, was shot dead in a car on his way home from the airport in Dar es Salaam. “When we lost Wayne, it was definitely a big eye-opener for us as to how far people would go if you got in their way,” said Krissie Clark, founder and director of PAMS.
In 2020, Lieutenant Colonel. Leroy Bruwer, a South African police detective who specialized in investigating rhino poachers, was also fatally shot while driving to work. Last year, Bajila Obed Kofa, a senior Kenya Wildlife Services officer, was shot while driving home after dropping off his daughter at school.
South Africa, in particular, already suffers from “extremely high levels of murders related to politics and organized crime,” said Julian Rademeyer, director of East and Southern Africa at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. The fear is now that such targeted killings may also become more of a norm for those who work in conservation.
If Mr Mzimba’s killers are not brought to justice, Mr Rademeyer adds, it will have a chilling effect on other rangers and “send a message that things like this go unpunished and the people involved are basically untouchable. “
Only 19 percent of homicide cases in South Africa have been solved, according to the Institute for Security Studies. Pierce said he and his colleagues have so far been “frustrated” by what they see as a lack of urgency and “slowness” in the investigation. “Anton’s legacy needs to be honored, and we need to get to the bottom of this,” said Mr. pierce. “We hope this is seen as a high priority matter.”
“All murder cases are treated as high priority crimes,” Brigadier General Mohlala said. “As soon as we get something, we’ll definitely arrest soon.”
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