Africa Elephant Fundraising Hero images Rangers Rory Young Supporters Young Family
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Check out that lovely progress bar. Chengeta supporters are the best!
Just $1,975 more in donations until our matching funds are fully utilized. That will bring our total to $38,467! Our best campaign to date: You don’t have to wear a cape to be a hero.
Rory Young has completed our second training session in Mali.
RORY: “I wouldn’t be achieving anything without all the sacrifice and support of the Chengeta team and supporters. These are “our” achievements, not “my” achievements!”
Unfortunately Rory became very ill with gastroenteritis and malaria the day before he was to fly home to his family. After IV meds and fluids he was able to leave a couple of days later than scheduled, but it will take some time for him to fully recover. The sacrifices made by Rory and his family are many.
Of course he makes light of it:
RORY: “Unfortunately, the recent BBC report on the earth-shattering finding (in my world) from Ethiopia to the effect that the smell of live chickens deters mosquitoes arrived too late for me.
I managed to go down with a bout of Malaria, nicely followed up by the dreaded lurgy (sometimes known as gastroenteritis). Other members of the noble poultry family, the quacks, have advised me that there is still more evil lurking within and have advised further blood sucking in order to identify this last member of this fowl trinity.
Whilst dwelling on my misery (and making the most whilst it last of every drop of sympathy I can winge out of my beloved) I am seriously considering entering future anti poaching missions with a chicken on my shoulder and a cork in my pocket…”
This was the first time we worked with Matt Croucher in the field. We are excited to continue partnering with him and his non-profit, Action Against Poaching. Can you imagine the logistics necessary to get his dummy/training mines and IED’s onto flights to Mali?
FROM RORY: “In ops C-IED and Anti-Mine Training in Mali with Matt Croucher GC.
Rangers in Mali need to know how to spot and deal with mines and IED’s to keep themselves, the community and the Elephants alive.
WILD Foundation are partnered with Chengeta Wildlife and Action Against Poaching providing in-ops training to the Malian Anti Poaching Brigade in intelligent and responsible methods.
This is possibly the most dangerous anti-poaching mission in the world. Rangers not only have to deal with attacks by poachers but also by terrorists and bandits, using IED’s, landmines, heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenades. Last month one ranger was burned alive and his colleague shot outside their home whilst on down time.
Despite all if this, the answer still comes down to community. The reasonable man. So far the Elephants have survived thanks to WILD Foundation’s intelligent work with the communities. The rangers and other armed forces provide the necessary support to deal with the criminal and terrorist elements threatening both the communities and the Elephants they are striving to protect.
A model for all of Africa. Intelligent Anti-poaching.”
The photos in this post are courtesy of Angie Ra, (pictured above) a filmmaker documenting our Mali work and the work of rangers protecting wildlife across Africa. Angie’s Facebook page: “Boots on The Ground”
Rory Young, exactly two years ago I first messaged you asking if I could help your efforts to fight the explosion of poaching that was wiping out wildlife in Africa. You accepted my offer immediately and just three months later we co-founded Chengeta Wildlife.
Thank you for opening my eyes to the horror you were facing and giving those of us far away from the front lines a way to take action.
We’ve been building an incredible team and I can’t wait to see what all of us accomplish over the next two years and beyond.
From Rory:
In ops somewhere in Africa.. A little surprise party being prepared for some unwanted visitors..We have begun making arrests and seizing weapons. Several separate successful ops. Here are two suspects with weapons and contraband. Aluta continua!
On my way to do further training of Zimbabwe Republic Police and scouts in the Nyaminyami area I received a message from a third party to “report to Office of the President in Kariba” (OP is the Zimbabwe Central Intelligence Organization- the local secret police goons).
After a full and thorough interrogation I was told that I was “not allowed to train anyone and if I did I would be arrested”. When I protested that I had been given a two year residence permit in order to train anti poaching personnel, that I was training police with the authority of Police HQ and with the permission of the appropriate authority for the area, I was told to shut up, that they were “above the police”, and that even if I had done nothing wrong they would find a reason to arrest me and throw away the key unless I stayed “away from the area and did no training in Zimbabwe”. No explanation was given and they clearly didn’t care if it was obvious that they are involved in poaching or trafficking. They were so stupid, arrogant especially incompetent that they actually bragged that two Europeans working for NGO’s in the Kariba area were keeping them informed of all activities in the parks and adjacent wildlife areas, and that if I did any anti poaching work with the police or parks that they would know immediately.
I ceased all anti poaching training, ops and other assistance in Zimbabwe and we only used Zim as our base of residence, continuing our efforts all over Africa, while we planned to leave in good time, staying well away from the Kariba area and not saying a word about Zimbabwe.
Unfortunately CIO didn’t stop there and we began to hear via third parties that CIO were making more threats against me, obviously to ensure I didn’t come back to the area. They wanted me and anyone like far away from Matusadona and Nyaminyami. I subsequently heard that another well-known international anti poaching organization was told to stay away and also threatened.
Aside from the worry that I might be “picked up” or disappear without my family knowing every time I landed at Harare airport on my return from anti poaching training and ops in other countries, we had to sit and watch the number of reports of elephants being poached in the Matusadona, Nyaminyami and other areas sky rocket to the point where there are now almost daily reports. Previously in one of the main areas we had been training and advising we had reached a point where there had been zero eles poached in many months.
We finally scraped together enough to get out and are determined to redouble our efforts in those places where we are welcomed and where we are currently enjoying unprecedented successes. However, we left Zimbabwe with heavy hearts.
Now you know who is behind the poaching of the elephants in Northern Zimbabwe and why we left Zimbabwe. Mugabe’s government is desperate for cash and this is why they are going to the extremes they are, such as tearing wild baby elephants away from their mothers and herds and sending them to China. What people don’t realise though is that Mugabe’s political party and his secret police minions are desperate for cash too. CIO needs cash to pay its secret informers who spy on their neighbours and report any opposition. That cash has to come from somewhere and whilst the official government departments use legal but unethical means to raise funds, the political and secret security appartus and often the army use any means they can.
They (CIO and ZANU PF) are nothing less than an organized crime syndicate. They are behind the poaching in Zimbabwe and as they become more desperate they are going to “allow” more of it. Don’t be fooled when there is a report of Zambian poachers being shot. That is just them allowing parks or police to deal with the competition. When CIO is behind it no one does a thing. With their tentacles reaching every corner of every village they could shut down the poaching in Zimbabwe in a day.
Zimbabweans cannot talk about any of this or even comment on this post for example. It is one thing to take on National Parks for exporting baby elephants legally albeit unethically but they cannot breathe a word against CIO and mention the fact that they are the biggest and most ruthless mafia in Zimbabwe.
Edit: Thank you for all the words of support. My work with Chengeta Wildlife will continue in Malawi, Guinea and elsewhere. Where there is a political will to fight poaching and support rule of law this war can be won!
As long as we can get on the ground we will keep fighting this war. If you can, please donate. If you can’t donate, please spread the word. We are an organization with zero overhead and all funds go to our work in the field.
I promise we are doing all we can to line up funding from larger organizations so we don’t have to lean on you guys so much in the future. That said, if you have any amount that you could donate, I would be forever grateful.
We have set up an easy new way to donate through our partners at ALERT.
Supporters in the UK can text APTR05 to 70070 to give £5
or text APTR10 to 70070 to give £10.
(APTR stands for Anti-Poaching TRaining.)
US donors can text any donation amount to (415) 319-6494. The first time you will have to fill in the bare minimum of information. In the future you can donate by simply texting the amount you would like to give to the number above.
Africa arrests Black Mamba Hero images Malawi Poaching Rory Young Snakes
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Interesting morning. We captured a poacher (2nd from left in the picture) and then just after taking the picture walked into a Black Mamba. The first two rangers and the poacher walked past it and then it came out of the grass and chased me and the ranger on the right in the picture.
Time for breakfast!