A photographic and written journal celebrating the rangers who put their lives on the line to protect Africa's precious wildlife. Told through real life stories and first hand experience of a job on the front line of conservation in Africa.

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The escalating poaching war in Africa

More than 1,000 rangers have been killed by poachers over the last decade. More than 1,000 rhinos were killed in South Africa alone in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. As many as 35,000 elephants were killed annually across Africa from 2013 to 2016. The amount of bushmeat taken is in the millions of tonnes.

African rangers need  support

Rangers need to have their stories told and shared by people outside of African national parks in order to get the funding and support they need to do their jobs properly.

By sharing their struggles and successes we hope to encourage more debate and discussion on what needs to be done to protect Africa's wildlife from the threat of poaching.

Spread the word

To try and spread the word about the lives of rangers in Africa, I've decided to give the electronic version of this book away for free, under a creative commons license.
However, if you enjoyed the book and want to make a real difference to rangers on the ground then please make a donation to one of the the following organisations who have supported this project:

About the author

"Poaching is not going away. So this is for each and every ranger, scout, investigative officer and anyone else fighting this war for the wildlife that cannot defend itself against guns." Vanessa Stephen

Vanessa Stephen spent four years immersing herself in the lives of anti-poaching units around Africa, carrying cameras and recording interviews along the way. A full-time writer, photographer and ecologist based in Cape Town, South Africa, Vanessa offers honest, unflinching insights into the lives of the rangers on the front line of conservation in Africa.

Pages from Bullets Snares & M99