Violence on the Frontlines of Conservation
What would you risk your life to protect?
It’s not a question most of us are ever forced to answer.
For many, it would undoubtedly be our families. Perhaps our homes. But would you risk your life to protect wildlife and the natural world?
Rangers do. Every single day, and all while supporting families of their own.
Tragically, around 150 rangers lose their lives each year – many of them killed in acts of violence while standing on the frontlines of conservation. We are still mourning the loss of seven conservation heroes in the horrific attack on Upemba National Park in March. Seven lives, gone in one day.
And behind every fallen ranger is a family left to navigate unimaginable loss. Families who have not only lost a loved one, but often their only source of income.
The Fallen Ranger Fund sits at the very heart of Thin Green Line. It’s the reason we were founded in the first place. The Fund exists to support families in the aftermath of loss, including helping children continue their education, keeping families together in secure housing, or establishing small businesses that provide a path to sustainable income.
We know this is a vision so many of you share.
It’s difficult to reconcile any ranger’s death in the line of duty, but those lost to violence are especially confronting.
One such ranger was Jiim from Nigeria. Working in Gashaka Gumti National Park, Jiim and his team monitored an area rich in biodiversity – home to chimpanzees, leopards, buffaloes, and highly trafficked pangolins.
Tragically, Jiim was killed by poachers while returning from patrol. He was just 28 years old.
Working as a dedicated ranger, Jiim supported his father, brother, and three nieces. In the wake of his loss, assistance through the Fallen Ranger Fund helped to secure housing, purchase farm equipment to establish a small business, and ensure his nieces could continue their education.
📷The late Jiim Raphael in his family compound, Nigeria.
Victorio was an Indigenous ranger working in the Amarakaeri Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon, known for its populations of jaguar, puma, armadillo, and primates.
Despite its ecological importance, the reserve is under constant threat from illegal mining, logging, and poaching. Victorio was a staunch and vocal advocate for its protection and, as a result, became the target of multiple death threats from those seeking to exploit it.
Tragically, he was followed and killed on his journey home after a day on patrol. His son witnessed his murder.
Victorio left behind four children – all of them left now without either parent. Support from the Fallen Ranger Fund will help cover the youngest child’s education, while also providing food and secure housing for the rest of his family.
📷 The late Victorio Dariquebe Gerewa; a prominent Indigenous Harakbut-Wachiperi leader and park ranger from Peru.
We feel each loss deeply, and we know you do too. Yet so many ranger deaths go unrecognised beyond their own teams and communities.
Like Nassor, Sixmund, Joseph, and Kassim from Tanzania. All killed by armed poachers while on patrol.
Nassor worked in human-wildlife conflict prevention, helping to protect lions from retaliatory killings by farmers and herders. Sixmund and Kassim were both killed while protecting elephants from ivory poachers. Joseph specialised in rhino protection in the famous Serengeti National Park.
All four rangers left behind families, including young children.
Thanks to the worldwide Thin Green Line community, we were able to support their families in their hour of need. Nassor’s wife now runs a successful produce stall to support her two children. Sixmund’s family established a small carpentry business to provide for his children, while the families of Joseph and Kassim were able to start farming enterprises.
Each family used the support from the Fallen Ranger Fund to keep their children in school, secure stable housing, and build small businesses that will generate long-term, sustainable income.
📷 Widows of the late Nassor Hussein and Kassim Mtambo, both rebuilding through small businesses established through the Fallen Ranger Fund.
What would you risk your life to protect? For these rangers, the answer was wildlife, wilderness, and the future of our planet. Their work protected the natural world we all call home.
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