Benson Kanyembo

Carol Van Bruggen took us to meet Benson Kanyembo, Conservation South Luangwa’s Operations Manager. Benson is tall, with a shaved head, and he smiles a bashful smile, except when we are talking about the numbers of elephants poached. His demeanor is one of quiet confidence ready for deliberate action.

When we walked into Benson Kanyembo’s office, it was clear we were in a paramilitary operations center. A large map on the wall showed the park boundaries with all the game management areas (GMAs). According to the Zambian government, Zambia has zoned land areas around most of its national parks, which are known as Game Management Areas. There are thirty-six unfenced GMAs in Zambia. Together with the twenty national parks, these GMAs represent about 33 percent of Zambia's total land area, totaling nearly 60,000 square miles. GMAs allow human settlement and hunting. The industry in these areas focuses on trophy hunting mostly by foreign visitors, residents who hunt wildlife for meat, and private companies that operate hunting concessions. Benson’s map shows the thirty-six GMAs scattered around northeast Zambia. Benson explained the difficulty of tracking poachers, usually along northern routes where it is even more isolated, as they move contraband ivory and bushmeat out of the area.

Benson manages seventy-five scouts who patrol the valley and help enforce wildlife protection. The second chart on his wall lists officers and their rations depending on how far they will travel into the bush and for how many days. They also carry their weapons, ammunition, and sleeping gear. There are different types of patrols, ranging from two to thirty days and including up to six or more officers along with a DNPW officer.

Benson’s teams patrol for poachers and snared animals using GPS units provided by The Africa Hope Fund and often work in terrain where vehicles cannot travel. Their bush pilot regularly patrols by air and radios locations to CSL when he spots smoke from fires set by poachers for smoking meat so they can carry it out, or sees dead elephants, hoping the scouts can catch up with the poachers carrying the ivory. The sound of an approaching airplane is also a deterrent because poachers know only air patrols fly that far into the bush.

Depending on the season, scouts slog through the unbearable heat in dry terrain or take boats up the Luangwa River and its tributaries, through wet marshes risking attacks by malaria-carrying mosquitos. More snares are collected during the dry season when scouts can cover more ground.

I appreciated Benson’s thoughtful, gentle manner and his knowledge of the wildlife, terrain, criminal activity, and people living in villages scattered across the Luangwa Valley. Benson made it clear that every elephant killed for its ivory puts the species closer to extinction in our lifetime. Construction companies often leave their materials where anyone can steal the heavy cable wire. Because Carol Van Bruggen helped us learn more about the wildlife than the average tourist on safari, after that day I looked at each elephant with more appreciation and with great fear for their future. We understood why Carol returned to Zambia year after year, determined to help save elephants from extinction, and we were ready to do what we could to help.

Added note: Benson Kanyembo was recipient of the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award 2019, on November 21st in London. Here he receives the award from Prince William. Photo courtesy Tusk Conservation Awards.

Written by Patricia Cole

An Africa Hope Fund board member for 7 years, Pat is a writer and a conservation activist. After traveling to Zambia, she became dedicated to helping Africa Hope Fund provide education to the next generation of Africans and ensure their future by protecting wildlife. Find Patricia on Facebook and Twitter, or on her websites www.writepatwrite.com and www.patmcole.com.

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