Combating Poaching and Illegal Logging in Tanzania: Voices of the Rangers-Hands-on Experiences from the Field

1. Poachers identify patterns in rangers patrolling

2. The group move in, approaching the area at night and waiting for early morning to get into action

3. Poachers identify or track a group of elephants

4. Scouts locate the elephants and call the rest of the group

5. Poachers kill the elephants, often the entire group

6. Tusks are fast-carried out of the area and buried...

7. or fast-tracked to local air strip or boat downstream or across border

8. The ivory is hidden and not shipped onwards until enforcement levels quiet down

9. The ivory is shipped by river boats or vehicle to ocean vessel or cargo aircraft.

Figure 3. How poaching is carried out

human-wildlife conflict and the workload of anti-poaching law enforcement personnel increase.

livestock farmers will need more grasslands, so livestock will be pushed into protected areas. This will disturb the wildlife’s habitats, and complications between farmers and wildlife will rise. Predators will kill livestock, and human-elephant conflicts will occur. This means that poachers will have a more permissive environment in which to operate as both

Rangers’ low salaries are another factor that undermines the protection of wildlife. 8 Often the salaries are so low, or do not even materialize, that rangers are tempted to start poaching

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