Daily fight to keep animals out of snares and safe from poachers and thieves

The Citizen

10-07-2025

A dedicated Kruger team patrols daily with K9 units to stop poachers targeting animals for meat and medicine.
It is not rhino horn or ivory poaching that takes up ranger Edmund Thorne and his team's time. While they are part of the antipoaching operations at Kruger National Park, his team has snares, bushmeat poaching and the illegal trade of animal parts for medicines to combat.
Thorne heads a private antipoaching unit established and funded by the Mdluli Safari Lodge and corporate sponsors.
'This is a daily fight,' Thorne said. 'Every day we patrol on foot, in vehicles and through planned operations.
Daily fight
'We cover a different section of the reserve each day. Everything we see gets reported. If there are animal tracks, snare marks, or signs of fence tampering, we act.'
It is a carefully coordinated effort between role players. On the other side of the park fence, environmental monitors patrol the boundaries, checking for breaches and damage. 'Everyone plays their part,' Thorne said.
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He helped establish the antipoaching unit two years ago. 'I run the field side of things and make sure the patrols happen.'
Visibility is central to their strategy.
'We are right next to the community, so it is important people see us out here. We also work with K9 units. Our dogs are trained to track suspects if needed.'
Different types of poaching
From left, Ruan Lombard, Zander van der Westhuizen and Dylan van Tonder. Picture: Hein Kaiser
While rhino poaching makes headlines, the real problem on their stretch of land are different types of poaching, Thorne said.
'Some people are snaring animals for food. Others are part of the bushmeat trade, supplying meat to buyers in places like Joburg. Then you get poachers who target animals like hyenas and leopards for traditional medicine. Different animals, varied reasons. Same threat.'
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Incidents of animals caught in snares, for example, have dramatically dropped since the unit came into being a couple of years ago.
'In the past two years, we lost one buffalo to a snare,' he said.
'Another was found in time, treated, and released.'
Animals caught in snares
'Outside our area of responsibility, others face bigger problems, but I believe our approach with patrols and dogs is working.'
Thorne said the biggest risk changes depending on the season.
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'In December, we see more bushmeat poaching because people are at home and need to feed their families,' he said.
The team covers a different section of the reserve each day. Picture: Hein Kaiser
Thorne has had a few run-ins with poachers.
'Twice we caught people who came in with dogs. Both times we arrested them before they could catch or kill anything.'
Rhino poachers are organised crime groups
Rhino poaching is a completely different kettle of fish.
'Those are organised crime groups. They work on information. When they know about a rhino in an area, they go for it.
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'It has nothing to do with the season. That is about demand.
'When there is a rhino nearby, we monitor it for as long as it is inside our patrol area. As soon as it leaves, we hand it over to the wider security network wherefrom the trail is picked up and monitored.'
Thorne is no stranger to dangerous work. He worked in mining security, focusing on illegal operations. Before that, he served in the police and as a bodyguard to politicians and ministers.
No stranger to dangerous work
'I came to the Kruger Park thinking I would stay for six months,' he said.
'That was 11 years ago. I thought I would move on. But this place got under my skin. I stayed. And I am not planning to leave anytime soon.'
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