The Okapi Reserve

Category: Epulu, Ranger Patrols, Rangers | Date: Oct 07 2007 | By: admin

As the definition says, a patrol is to go round an area to check that is secure or safe and that there is no trouble. The Okapi wildlife Reserve with its 13,700 square kilometers is the second after

Salonga
National park
in DRCongo (36,000 square kilometers) in terms of area.

Rangers securing this beautiful Reserve which abounds some endemics species such us: Okapi, water chevrotain, aquatic genet… under different threats of armed poaching, uncontrolled agriculture, population immigration towards the reserve, illegal mining are less than 100, but it needs strategy to cover the total area in terms of patrolling.

Epulu rangers in parade

Before going out, the Monitoring and Anti poaching Unities always sit down and brief the team for the normal progression in the field, and once back the patrol leader and the secretary of the team have the obligation to debrief their patrol. Rangers in the field use some navigation equipments for example: compass, GPS, the reserve map,…and the management provide also the Satellite phone for communication ( Thuraya ), this allows the manager to be in permanent contact with the team and for any emergency.

patrol leaders during the debriefing

Somba trains rangers on communication with Satelite phone ( Thuraya )

Communication exercise

That is important for debriefing of a patrol, is to see how the team moves day per day, and permits other to be informed of the sector patrolled, and specially have a big picture of the region in terms of animal movement, plants, poaching activity,…..

By the way, the Okapi Wildlife Reserve monitoring team needs more equipment for the keeping of database (computer), GP, sleeping bag and compasses to improve its work.

Your donation is welcomed for the safeguarding of the naturals resources of the Reserve.

Somba

Technorati : congo, epulu., okapi. wildlifedirect

Powered by Zoundry