https://reasonstobecheerful.world/back-from-the-brink/
"It’s noon, and Paimolo Bwalya stops under a mopane tree to lower his heavy
firearm and telemetry equipment. He and his colleague have been walking since
daybreak in the sweltering Zambian bush, full of dangerous animals, trying to
catch a glimpse of the black rhinos that live here.
This is day four of their ten-day patrol in North Luangwa National Park where
they monitor the population of rhinos, secure their habitat and protect them
from armed poachers. At 40°C (104°F), with the sun approaching its zenith, they
can now take a well-deserved rest and eat lunch — today it’s nsima, a meal made
of maize, with a dry fish called kapenta.
North Luangwa National Park is one of the last open and intact ecosystems in
Africa. Spanning 4,500 square kilometers — about half the size of Puerto Rico —
the northern Zambian park is massive. Bwalya, head of the park’s Rhino
Monitoring Unit, is one of 440 wildlife police officers and community scouts
who monitor it for the elusive animals while watching for evidence of illegal
activities: poacher footprints, arson fires, bushmeat drying racks and
possession of illegal firearms.
Their efforts pay off in droves. Actually, in herds: In a country that declared
black rhinos hunted to national extinction in 1998, today North Luangwa
National Park — the only park in Zambia where the animals are thriving — is
home to one of the fastest-growing populations on the continent."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
