Rangers lead from front

TARGETS: THEY ARE A SHINING EXAMPLE OF COMMITMENT, PASSION’

- Brian Sokutu

'Were it not for these brave men and women, many species would face extinction.'

A drill by rangers wearing camouflage, choral music by Voices of the Wild, the skirl of the pipes from the Stevenson-Hamilton Pipe Band, an SA National Parks (SANParks) helicopter flypast, a roll call and the laying of wreaths, yesterday marked a moving World Ranger Day ceremony at the Kruger National Park.

World Ranger Day - an occasion to commemorate and honour rangers worldwide for their dedication in the conservation and protection of the natural and cultural heritage was marked in line with the theme "30 by 30", according to SANParks head of communications JP Louw.

The theme, said Louw, was intended to "draw attention to the tangible actions that rangers take every day to reach our global 30 by 30 targets, as set out by the Convention on Biological Diversity at the 2022 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity".