Garamba National Park in DR Congo suffered a devastating set back yesterday when rangers came under attack from elephant poachers. The incident has left 3 rangers dead and 2 others in hospital. Included in the wounded is the Park Manager, Erik Mararv.
The shootout occurred yesterday, April 23rd, and the patrol had to be evacuated by the United Nations AFRICOM force. The rangers where flown to the United States military base in Nzara, South Sudan,
Rangers Dimba Richard, Anigobe Bagare, and Matikuli Tsago have since sadly died. The other ranger Kenisa Adrobiago and Park Manager Erik Mararv have been stabilised at the United Nations military hospital in Bria, Central African Republic (CAR).
“We are devastated by this latest loss. Rangers put their lives on the line each and every day, and are under real siege in Garamba protecting elephants from heavily incentivized and militarized poaching gangs who threaten the very survival of humans and wildlife alike” said Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks.
“Our heartfelt condolences are with the surviving family members of the rangers we have lost. We are extremely grateful to the support we have received from AFRICOM who provided for the timely evacuations and for the assistance of SANGARIS in CAR. We are doing everything possible to provide for all these men and their families during this very difficult time.”
African Parks is fortunate to have in place a Personal Accident Policy that in the event of death or an accident covers that employee and their family members in the amount of six times their annual salary, in addition to any funds raised through campaigns and generous donors.
Elephants numbered around 22,000 in the late 1970’s but today a fraction of their population remains. This is ground zero in the elephant poaching crisis, where elephants are slaughtered for their ivory tusks to be sold illegally by local and regional criminal networks. In 2015, Garamba tragically lost five ICCN guards and three members of the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) who were killed by heavily-armed elephant
poachers in three separate incidents.
African Parks has been managing Garamba, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, since 2005 in partnership with the Institut Congolais pour La Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), the DRC’s official wildlife authority. The park, which is 4,900km2 and is part of the larger Garamba Complex of 12,500km2, is the last stronghold for elephants and giraffe in all of Congo.
