Whether a Safari Guide is conducting game drives in search of the BIG 5 or guiding on foot as a Trails Guide, exploring these wilderness regions and all they have to offer, they are required to have a wide and deep knowledge of the natural region within which they operate. These people can easily and regularly do, make the shift from Game Ranger to Safari Guide however will most likely, for obvious reasons not be performing these different duties at the same time. There are a handful of Safari Guides that might be trained in or qualified to perform certain anti-poaching roles and visa, versa. The revenue generated by ecotourism is one of the main sources of funding for research, management, anti-poaching and the protection of these wild spaces that we and our guests are able to experience.īoth Game Rangers and Safari Guides perform vital roles within the conservation of wilderness areas, and both of these professions go hand in hand, working together for the greater good of conservation, however as we have mentioned, perform very different duties. The role of a Safari Guide is to connect tourists with nature, in a way that will encourage those people to return again and again in search of natural, meaningful experiences. Like a Game ranger, a Safari Guide also performs a vital role in conservation.
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They are a vital force in the preservation of wilderness areas, as they work day and night, not only to care for natural places and the animals within them but possibly also risking their own lives to curb the effects of illegal hunting or poaching as it is commonly referred to. Game Rangers are the last line of protection for wildlife in Africa. However, unless these same people which the modern safari industry term “Rangers” spend the majority of their working time, fixing fences, boreholes and roads, or are trained in, and performing actual anti-poaching operations such as patrols, man-tracking, snare removal, stakeouts and sting operations which lead to the protection of wildlife through the fight against poaching, they should not be referred to as a “Game Ranger”.Ī “ Game Ranger” performs a very different role, using a unique set of skills, compared with those of a Safari Guide. These topics and the efficient implementation of such, go a long way to helping these teams run like a well-oiled safari machine, in turn generating massive funds for the conservation of these wild spaces.
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A number of lodges and camps even have a “Rangers office”, where the “Head Ranger” conducts “rangers meetings” with their teams, in which many important issues are discussed, such as, how to view animals sensitively, whilst conducting game drives in a low impact way, off-road driving, wet season vs dry season roads and making sure to broadcast interesting sightings, correctly on the radio in order to observe strict Game Drive Protocols. One role developed for the protection and care of wildlife and the natural areas in which it exists, and the other role for the purpose of connecting people with these beautiful places, educating them about wildlife and conservation.Ī fair portion of the luxury safari industry in South Africa today, still refers to their Safari/Field Guides as “Game Rangers”. The industry looked to the bush savvy rangers, with their knowledge of wildlife and ability to navigate driving off-road in search of the animal’s tourists had come to see.Īs the industry developed, so did each of these professions and over time became very different, each role, evolving for its unique purpose. It was the beginning of the open vehicle game drives, offering phenomenal wildlife viewing opportunities to tourists as they were bounced around the bush in a 4 x 4 safari car by a rugged, khaki-clad Game Ranger in search of Big Game.Īt this time, both the roles of the Game Ranger and Safari Guide were one and the same thing. EcoTraining Field Guide Practical 35 DayĪt some stage in the mid to late the late 1960s’, the South African luxury safari industry started to develop into what we know today.EcoTracker Course: Animal Monitoring 55 Days.
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