November saw a spike on the mammal poaching front, primarily due to the onset of the rains. As the bush thickens up, and food and water become readily available, and the animals disperse making it harder for a poacher to trap them.

This has found our teams hard at work to mitigate this increase.

A total of 58 wire snares were recovered this month, almost double the amount collected last month. A testament to the boots-on-the-ground policy we have is that the vast majority of these snares were new, and had been in action for no more than a day or two. This quick response ensured that these traps were removed before they could cause any harm.

We were also able to arrest a poacher who had unfortunately managed to snare a guinea fowl. This successful arrest saw the accused receive a 9-month sentence for his crime. A great win for conservation.

This month also saw a shakeup of patrols. As an anti-poaching unit, we cannot have a routine or a schedule. Very quickly the poachers recognize this and simply conduct their activities outside our patrol times. This adjustment made an immediate effect when we had not 1 but 2 contacts with commercial bush meat poachers. Both instances saw these criminals entering the National Park with the worst intent. Joint operations were established with the National Parks Authority in pursuit of these poachers.

Whilst we did not manage to capture them this time, they are certainly going to think twice about disturbing our wildlife again. They know that they are in for a fight if they continue their ways.

The generous donations from our amazing supporters have enabled us to keep boots on the ground, we have been able to rescue 2 distressed animals this month. With the incredible work of the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, VFAPU rangers we were able to identify and aid in the rescue of a male Impala that had a snare on its horns, as well as a female buffalo that had a piece of PVC pipe stuck on its hoof, causing great discomfort.

Sadly, we lost 5 mammals this month to poaching. 3 buffalo, 1 impala and 1 young kudu. Whilst this is a terrible loss, it serves as a stark reminder of the importance of the work the VFAPU Rangers do.

Finally, and on a very positive note, November saw our first introduction of a K9 tracking unit. Take Action Trust and VFAPU have partnered up to greatly increase the anti-poaching efforts in our wonderful Victoria Falls area. The addition of these incredible dogs will go a long way in bringing these criminals to justice.