16/07/2026
African Rangers and Rhino Conservation🦏
Moving Giants with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife KZN Wildlife’s Game Capture Unit Some conservation happens in stillness and some moves fast in helicopters overhead, teams on the ground and a two ton rhino waking up in a crate.🚁
The Game Capture Unit handles the physical side of conservation: translocating animals, responding to escapes, treating injuries and supporting reserves across southern Africa.💉💊
“We’re basically the guys that carry out the physical conservation work,” says JP van Heerden. “Moving animals from point A to point B. ”Every operation is different, adds Unit Manager Dumisane Zwane. “You have to be ready for anything.” Based in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park, birthplace of many rhino founder populations, the team still carries out these delicate translocations to date. A vet darts from a helicopter, the ground crew monitors vitals, then guides the partially woken rhino into a crate for transport.📍
Challenges remain prominant despite the hard work the team puts in such as poaching pressure, budget cuts and growing human wildlife conflict. Yet through partnerships and community trust, coexistence is growing stronger.🤝
“You spend a lot of time out in the bush,” says van Heerden. “And the more time you spend, the more you understand it.”🌿
We raise our hats to the team making it happen on the ground and protecting one of Africa’s greatest creatures🦏
The program is a collaboration between Jim Green Footwear and the GameRangersAssociationofAfrica
Read more about Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife in our latest blog!🤓
