Niassa Park, in Mozambique, is one of Africa’s largest wildlife preserves. The last time an elephant was lost to poaching was in May 2018.
They implemented a rapid-response police force and have increased their patrolling and response by air. The preserve has benefited from the desire of Mozambique’s president to see poaching reduced.
The rapid-response police force is billed as an “elite” unit and are better armed than normal reserve rangers. There are just 72 hours between the arrest of a potential poacher and their presentation to prosecutors.
One of the reasons for less poaching victims is also the lack of targets. In recent years the population has declined from 12k animals to 3,600 in 2016 (illegal poaching reached a peak in 2011).
Now, the park has set it’s sights on achieving similar milestones with the rest of it’s wildlife species, not just elephants.
