About RICHARD:

How did he become a ranger?

“I started to work for Mashatu Game Reserve as a barman in the beginning. I became totally addicted to bird watching in and around the camp. I then realised that I wanted to learn all I could about the bush around me, and how everything fits together.  I became a tracker and trained to become a ranger. I had to learn all of the trees and tracks of the animals. I became a ranger at Mashatu Game Reserve in 1993”.

Most memorable sighting/s

“I was going to help to fix a water pipe near the camp and there were lots of elephants around. They didn’t want to leave the area and decided that they didn’t want us around either, so one of the older cows came and pushed the car out of the way! No one was hurt, but it did show us how powerful an elephant is!”

“During 2002 I was asked to be the ranger for Africam for a whole month. During this month I worked with a camera crew and presenter Saba Douglas-Hamilton in a program called Live and Wild with Africam. Days were spent driving around filming some amazing stuff, and for a half an hour every evening of the week we were live on BBC”.

Conservation message

Preserve our wildlife for our children.

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