Namibia’s Save the Rhino Trust has said it has started a rhino monitoring training programme for community rangers.
According to the group’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sinson Urikob, 80 people are participating in the programme.
Speaking on Tuesday, Urikob added that the training was part of a bid to curb the poaching of the last free roaming black rhinos in the world.
Urikob said the training will equip community rangers with different skills that would make it possible for them to handle themselves in the field while protecting the rhinos.
“Community rhino rangers working in these areas are of the utmost importance when conducting monitoring patrols and providing critical information on rhinos.’’
Urikob said that the trackers come from the community and are trained in different skills such as how to track rhinos on foot on rough terrain in an area with no national park status and no fences.
“We need real data from the field to be able to tell the nation how many free roaming rhinos we have.
“The rangers need to know their behavior and tracking using the different equipment provided such as GPS, cameras.
“They must be able to tell their age and sex and know how to approach a rhino, and how to handle themselves at crime scenes.’’
Namibia is the only country in the world with the last free roaming black rhinos found in the north east of the country.
