The world’s first female anti-poaching unit

Black Mamba – The Power of Women

By Matilda Söderström. Photo: James Suter Och Julia Gunther

Black Mamba isn’t just the name of Africa’s most dangerous snake, it’s also the world’s first female anti-poaching unit that protects the area around the Kruger National Park in South Africa from poachers – completely unarmed!

A constant war is being fought out in the African bush. The war for rhino horn – ‘the white gold’ – that today, on the black market, is worth more per kilo than gold. South Africa is home to 80 percent of all of the rhinos on the planet, and every day three rhinos are killed here on average. Poachers risk their lives, and the severe poverty in many parts of South Africa’s countryside drives young men out into the wilderness, armed and at night. They are well aware of the high prices and great demand for rhino horn. For them, the pursuit of this ‘white gold’ is an opportunity to support their families. And the closer we get to the extinction of rhinos, the more coveted their horns are, leading to ever-increasing prices.

The young poachers don’t reflect on how their hunt to extinction will affect South Africa’s future. The country’s thriving tourism industry, an important source of income, attracts travellers with safari adventures that will also die out when there is no more wildlife left to show. And future generations will grow up just knowing rhinos, elephants and other wildlife from pictures in history books.

WOMEN WITH SUPERPOWERS. As a result of Black Mamba’s unique methods, which have proved extremely effective, rhino poaching in the Balule Nature Reserve has decreased. Their method is to ‘fight’ poachers without using violence and weapons. The goal is not to harm poachers – but to save rhinos. Day and night, the Black Mamba unit patrols the bush on foot, partly to make their presence known, but also to gather information, report abnormalities and remove the poachers’ snares.

Of course the women sometimes come across poachers. When this happens it’s the poachers that are faced with a dilemma – should they attack the unarmed women, with children and families in some of the nearby villages, and then go back to their own village bearing the shame of having killed an unarmed woman? This is a culture where women, and especially mothers, have an incredibly high status and an important role in South African society. You could say the fact that the Black Mamba unit only consists of women is, when they stand eye-to-eye with poachers, its superpower.

DANGEROUS WORKING ENVIRONMENT. Another threat the patrol may encounter out in the bush is, of course, wild animals; after all, they walk around unarmed in a Big Five area (an area where the five big wild African animals live – leopards, lions, elephants, rhinos and African buffaloes). Many of the women in the team had never seen wild elephants, lions or rhinos before joining Black Mamba – now it’s part of their everyday life.

To be prepared for the threats and challenges that their work entails, hard training is required, both before and after recruitment. As Black Mamba is a weapon-free unit in tough terrain, the women must be extremely well trained and ready for any situation that could be dangerous.

THE WHOLE COMMUNITY. Black Mamba is so much more than just an anti-poaching unit. They also work to inform and educate the inhabitants of the local communities to create stronger relationships between humans and wildlife. Another important aspect is to create jobs for women in rural areas, to combat poverty.

Over the years, being an unarmed anti-poaching fighter has become an honourable mission, and the Black Mamba women are now great role models for younger generations who admire their efforts to nurture and conserve their common environment and wildlife. Over 40 women currently work full-time in close-knit teams to patrol the area around the clock. Their methods have revolutionised the way we think about conserving and protecting endangered species, in that their unit also includes poor communities, creates job opportunities for women from the villages, and at the same time highlights the problem and opportunities locally.

NEXT GENERATION WILDLIFE DEFENDERS. Another Black Mamba philosophy is that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. That’s why we must educate children to create a sustainable future. The Bush Babies Environmental Education Program runs training programmes at ten local schools, focusing on bush conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. The programme reaches 870 schoolchildren who live at the border of the Kruger National Park, where poaching is a major threat and wildlife conservation is more important than ever.

The Bush Babies programme wants to create environmentally friendly communities, and broader knowledge of the negative effects of hunting a species to extinction – with the goal of creating a future generation with more conservation activists and fewer poachers.

Every week, one of the Black Mamba women goes to visit schools, wearing her uniform, to inspire the children and talk about her work. This creates a ripple effect, as the children go home to their families later that day and tell them about Black Mamba, and how important it is to care for wildlife and the environment. During the school holidays, Black Mamba takes the children out to the nature reserve to show them the animals they learn about in school, and give them the opportunity to experience the area’s fantastic but vulnerable wildlife.

HEROINES OF THE BUSH. In 2015, Black Mamba received the UN’s highest environmental honour, the ‘Champions of the Earth Award’, as the world’s most successful female and unarmed anti-poaching organization.

The Perfect World Foundation has visited Black Mamba on several occasions in the Balule Nature Reserve in South Africa, and is always impressed by their strong desire to save the rhinos.

“It’s important for us to support projects that are fighting so that the next generation will have the opportunity to experience the wild animals. The fact that Black Mamba’s work also includes the community, and demonstrates women’s strength, makes it a Perfect Project,” says Lars Jacobsson, one of the founders of The Perfect World Foundation.

The Perfect World’s donations, which come largely from the organization’s sponsoring partner Maria Nila, have made a big difference and been used for new equipment, uniforms, tools, means of transport, fuel and education. The Perfect World Foundation will continue to support Black Mamba in their efforts, and hopes that their approach of preserving endangered wildlife by establishing new values in the local communities, will inspire more people and organizations to do the same.

BLACK MAMBA. Black Mamba is the world’s first all-female antipoaching unit that protects the area around the Kruger National Park in South Africa from poachers – completely unarmed!

BUSH BABIES. The Bush Babies Environmental Education Program runs training programmes through Black Mamba at ten local schools, focusing on bush conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. The programme reaches 870 schoolchildren who live at the border of the Kruger National Park, where poaching is a major threat and wildlife conservation is more important than ever.