I remember when I was a little kid I loved to ask questions about my surrounding or anything I came across which I was not familiar with. I was in town with my father when a man wearing camouflaged clothes walked past us and went to an office where there was a lot of animal paintings and animal trophies. He told me that the man was a game ranger who works for Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. That time I did not understood I nodded my head to let it go but as I grew up I began to know and experience the game rangers’ roles and responsibilities.

Game ranger job in Zimbabwe is consolidated job with roles of game wardens, field guides, conservationist officers and the general game ranger. The game rangers generally are in the management of game reserves. They work hand in hand with experts in the wildlife such as veterinary experts, ecologists, wildlife managers and zoologists in their day to day duties. I asked the head officer when I was in Kariba and he said to me, "Some don't understand our job but I would like to put it this way, we are parents to the wildlife that we check for health problems, make sure they eat, don't go out of bounds, and protect them as it pains me as a parent to see my children dying."

Zimbabwe parks and Wildlife Management rangers are responsible to manage the nature reserves in a sustainable manner. They make sure the fences around the game reserves are in good shape and maintenance them if there is a need. The game rangers participate in fire control measures for example creating fire guards around the park, and also help in the erosion controls in the game reserve. Thus the game rangers are important in keeping the wildlife safe so that generations to come will be able to see the wildlife.

Have you seen them around walking on foot with a rifle on their backs or on their green 4x4 trucks? Yes, they make sure the rules of the park are observed so that it protects us and the animals. Furthermore, they go on to educate the public on how to handle wild animals and with the aim to reduce human-wildlife conflicts. Due to the droughts in the previous years in Zimbabwe there was a surge in the cases of human-wildlife conflicts as the wildlife and people clash for resources such as water and feeding grounds. The Zimbabwe national parks rangers talk to the community with the aim to strike a balance between human and wildlife issues.

The game rangers observe and record activities in the game reserve. They take notes, study on the animal behaviours and collecting samples of water and animals for testing in the laboratories. This helps to manage the animal population and check for diseases for example water testing that was done at Hwange national park when they identified that the water holes were poisoned with cyanide and recently in 2020 the bacteria that killed over thirty elephants. The animal population controls such as culling, relocation of animals and reintroduction of animals is enforced by the game rangers.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management game rangers are always on their feet to reduce and eliminate threats to wildlife such a poaching and animal trafficking. The game rangers are in war with the poachers as seen with battles being fought in the parks against the poachers. Game rangers die in the process of saving wildlife from poachers to threaten the existence of wildlife and this can be witnessed by the high statistics in Africa with more than 50 deaths of game rangers being reported in 2019 by the Game Rangers Association of Africa (GRAA).

The game rangers are the unsung heroes of every country thus they need to be well remunerated, have insurance covers and have benefits so that they carry out their duties. If you want to join them, you can contact the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Offices or via their email for enquiries. Give them information on the wildlife so as to help them and also protect the wildlife from extinction.