About JOU:

How did he become a ranger?

“I started on the 1st of October 1986 at Mashatu. In 1987 I applied for a tracker’s position and was accepted. Soon after my training started and in 1989 I was employed as a trainee ranger”. Jou has been a professional guide at Mashatu for nearly 19 years. He was also Mashatu’s mountain biking ranger for many years.

Most memorable sightings:

The mountain biking safaris began in 1999 and Jou has an exciting story to share: “Early one morning my guests and I were cycling through the central area of the reserve. In the distance we spotted a lioness with 2 cubs disappearing into the bush. We then noticed an old kudu cow lying on the ground. We cycled closer and found that the cow was still alive but struggling to breath. There were puncture holes on each side of the throat and claw marks on the rump. After a few minutes she stood up and stumbled off into the near by bush to face a certain death.”

Another of his favourite sightings: “We were out on an afternoon drive near Fraser Jones Weir. It was hot and dry and the elephants had dug a small deep hole in the dry riverbed in search of water. Two impala ewes were standing nervously near the hole wanting to drink but didn’t. A third impala approached from the riverbank and walked directly to the hole to drink. As it lowered its head to drink, a leopard jumped out of the hole, attacked the impala killing it quickly before dragging it up a nearby tree.”

On another morning, Jou and his guests watched a Kori Bustard (Botswana’s national bird) trying to take off when all of a sudden a cheetah attacked it – pouncing on top of it.

Conservation message

“We all use a lot of papers and tins, and instead of throwing them in bins we throw it them in the bush. This is not healthy for the environment. We need to take the time to stop and collect this rubbish and try and spread the message amongst everyone not to litter in our reserve but also back home.”

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