KWS Rangers

Courtesy of: Capital FM News

I keep up with the African Wildlife Foundation news feeds, and since it is Kenya's Golden Jubilee year marking 50 years of independence, they have commended Kenya for its commitment conserving landscapes and wildlife.

This article brought me to nostalgia when it mentioned one of Kenya's main conservation initiatives, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). This is their all-things-conservation-and-wildlife force. During my semester of study abroad in East Africa, we worked with their rangers while doing research. They were essentially our bodyguards while we were in the bush, and I came to immensely appreciate how KWS works and how serious they are when it comes to anti-poaching work. KWS rangers are freaking soldiers. They are the cops of bush law enforcement. They have to graduate from an intense program, carry rifles and flares, and are mostly very large men. During my first experiences with the KWS, my only thought was, Holy crap! It's like a war, protecting wildlife against the bushmeat trade and harvesting of horns and tusks.

My favorite ranger, Raymond, was a big old dude who was committed to his work. I never felt unsafe in his presence, even spending days walking among elephants, giraffes, snakes, and at one point, a very pissed off wildebeest. Whenever we encountered elephants, he would get very serious and quiet, and he would be very direct in leading us to safety. This guy knew what he was doing. My research partner, Jackie, was always the one to ask exactly what was on her mind, and for every KWS ranger we worked with, it was "Have you ever killed a man?" (accompanied with a rugged cowboy voice, of course). Most KWS rangers would say yes - though they never initiated gunfire - and wouldn't be able to tell us how many people. It brought to light the gravity of this wildlife-people tension, and made us feel pretty somber.

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