As we embark on yet another year, I wish to extend my sincere gratitude for all the incredible support shown to VFAPU in 2023. It is greatly appreciated.

January is a wonderful time of year, with baby animals popping up all over the place, flame lilies in full bloom and more versions of the colour green than you will ever see on an artist’s pallet.

The distress and despair of the dry season, whilst only a few months ago, feels like a distant memory as the animals gorge themselves on the feast of new growth. Not only do the rains bring relief from the harsh dry season, but also from the constant threat of poaching.

Whilst never eliminated, we have seen the number of incursions and poaching incidents decrease drastically over the last month.

This is primarily due to the abundance of food and water, which sees animals disperse across a greater area, making them that much more difficult for a poacher to predict and target.

The rains do however present their challenges for our dedicated rangers out on patrol daily. With almost every tree lush with leaves, and grass now over knee high, concealing snares has never been easier for a poacher, causing us to have to adapt and alter our patrol methods. In addition to the dense bush, our beautiful summer thunderstorms add to the problem. Tracks and spoors often tell a story for days, but one burst of rain completely wipes out all evidence that anything walked the well-used paths. Our rangers need to call upon all their bushcraft skills during this time of the year.

A massive highlight for us was in early January when we assisted the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust with an elephant that had a very bad snare around its ankle. With the thickness of the bush, the Wildlife Trust needed eyes on the animal whilst they prepared their drugs and equipment. VFAPU is always ready and eager to help. We quickly rushed to the last known location where the elephant had been spotted. Very quickly we found not just one elephant, but a herd of over 70 animals. Spread out, and happily browsing on the green flush of leaves. Time was not on our side, as it was now early evening, and nightfall would make a successful darting that much more difficult. As luck would have it, and after about 20 minutes of scrutinizing every animal, there he was, happily munching on a mopane tree just off the road. The timing was impeccable as the Wildlife Trust vets arrived on the scene shortly after.

As night began to fall, the young bull was successfully immobilized, and we managed to rid him of the treacherous snare that had dug deep into his leg.

Another amazing example of the teamwork that is so evident amongst the conservationists of Victoria Falls.

The VFAPU Rangers picked up 11 snares this last month. Significantly less than in previous months. Sadly 2 of those snares had managed to catch a buffalo each. These were discovered after a VFAPU Ranger noticed vultures circling outside of our main area of focus, into the National Park. We are finding more and more that poachers are “hunting” with snares. The traditional method of using a snare is to identify a game path, usually around a common watering or feeding source. Snares are set, and left, with the poacher returning daily to check if anything has been caught.

However, we are seeing the hunting method deployed more regularly. This is where poachers first identify the herd of animals they are targeting. They then jump in front of the group and lay a line of snares, then get back behind the animals and herd them in the direction of the snare line.

Sadly, in this particular instance, and after 2 failed herding attempts, the poachers got lucky and managed to catch 2 buffalo in a single event. This form of poaching can only be mitigated by boots on the ground and a vast network of intelligence that informs us exactly when the poachers are up to no good.

Speaking of intelligence. We have used this relatively quiet time to start the process of establishing an effective informer network in the greater Vic Falls area. Most anti-poaching units will agree that more arrests are made in towns and communities, than out in the field. We have managed to engage with old informers, as well as recruit a few new ones, offering lucrative rewards for information that leads to the arrest of a poacher. The aim is to make life as difficult as possible for these guys. Not only does he need to contend with us in the bush, but also be wary of the community he lives in for fear of being ratted out.

We have already had some success, with information coming to us of an individual trying to sell lion claws to tourists. A quick undercover reaction with the ZRP Minerals, Flora and Fauna Unit, as well as The National Parks Investigations team, saw us apprehend 2 individuals. The first was a junior, and just a sales rep. He was released after providing information allowing us to arrest the bigger fish. This we did successfully. He has been arrested and appears in court on the 28th of February to hear his fate. Whilst he did not obtain the claws himself, and was just selling them, he has managed to provide some valuable information that we will use to get to the root of the problem and nab the real big fish.