Shades of grey — rethinking the heroes and villains in the war on rhino poaching
A special field ranger (name cannot be disclosed) on an anti-poaching patrol in the Kruger Park on 8 November 2014. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sunday Times / James Oatway)
By Babar Dharani - 25 Jul 2024
Are game rangers in the Kruger National Park heroes or villains? With almost 70% implicated in poaching, it may be tempting to judge them all harshly. But this polarised categorisation hinders rather than helps conservation.
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At a media visit to the Kruger National Park earlier this year, SANParks spokesperson Ike Phaahla announced that more than R250-million had been spent in 2023 to deter poaching. Regional ranger Richard Sowry told the media contingent that poaching presented a threat to the park’s existence, with far-reaching consequences economically, socially and ecologically.
With estimates that up to 70% of park rangers could be involved in rhino poaching, it’s easy to villainise them, but the reality is a lot more nuanced, and this binary lens, where rangers are either heroes winning the war or villains failing it, hinders our ability to effectively support their crucial work.
In our quest to navigate a complex world, our minds often simplify reality by constructing black-and-white mental models. The allure of quick sense-making through polarised categorisations, like heroes versus villains, is undeniable.
However, decisions and behaviours founded on these simplified models have real-life consequences that extend far beyond the binary framework, especially when it comes to complex issues, such as “grand challenges” being faced by the world, like the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and protecting biodiversity.
First, it is important to understand how our minds work to categorise things in order to make sense of them.
Determinants of heroes or villains
Folklore depicted the hero as someone who required no support, yet successfully saved others from harm. As such, the burden of heroism is often laid on individuals who protect. Consequently, certain civil institutions are seen as heroes, such as the army, the police, firefighters and park rangers.
But there are instances when people’s perceptions shift dramatically to consider them as villains. Research identifies the process of such a marked shift in perception:
- 1. Selling a war scenario: The media portrays poaching as a war, simplifying the issue and turning park rangers into warriors battling villains. This creates unrealistic expectations and ignores the complexity of the situation;
- 2. Instilling a warrior mindset: Framing rangers as solely responsible for “winning” the poaching war puts immense pressure on them and overlooks the broader challenges they face;
- 3. Contact experience: Militarisation of park rangers can lead to stricter enforcement and negative encounters with the public, shifting public perception;
- 4. Inaccurate evaluations of success: People judge park rangers based on factors outside their control, like cleanliness of campsites, visitor adherence to rules and even animal density in parks, which can lead to them being seen as failing and turning public opinion against them; and
- 5. Collective categorisation: We tend to view all park rangers the same way, ignoring individual differences. Additionally, negative perceptions of civil servants in general can taint our view of park rangers.
A make-believe poacher is captured during a demonstration with game rangers in the Kruger National Park on 28 November 2017. (Photo: Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Deaan Vivier)
Beyond black and white: the rangers’ experience
In their daily work, Kruger Park rangers are implementing innovative initiatives to achieve several key goals:
- Boosting efficiency by motivating rangers, using specialist detection technologies, employing air support and deploying canine units, to name a few;
- Building organisational resilience by actively understanding and combating the drivers of corruption, including measures to rebuild a sense of purpose and realign values. Addressing vulnerabilities by directly supporting rangers in managing their finances and overall well-being;
- Fostering values-based leadership that emphasises the core value of conservation and cultivates key attributes like integrity, accountability, discipline and courage; and
- Taking targeted actions through transparent and fair polygraph integrity testing, efficient investigations and successful prosecutions.
Classifying rangers as heroes or villains has significant consequences for the cause. Villainising them is detrimental to conservation efforts, since it negatively affects their morale and weakens their crucial role in protecting wildlife.
Beyond heroes: a more holistic approach
Fighting organised crime is rife with challenges from avenues beyond the scope of rangers. Additionally, the stresses of lethal battles with poachers, most of whom are low-earning pawns from our local communities, have weighed heavily on the psychological well-being of rangers.
The counterposition of heroes is often burdened by perceptions of front-line defence as warriors. Such expectations are also detrimental, risking buckling under pressure. Instead of projecting a warrior archetype, the counterintuitive position of supporting heroes is needed.
This can be in the form of a more efficient, well-led and well-organised response that includes other parts of local communities near neighbouring parks and society at large, including the criminal justice system, local governments and other relevant agencies.
A bloodhound-mastiff crossbreed sniffs out poachers during a demonstration with game rangers in the Kruger Park on 28 November 2017. (Photo by Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Deaan Vivier)
Need for colours in reviewing grand challenges
While all civil servants must aspire to excellence and each worker must be held accountable when they don’t serve their institutional goals, our mental models encourage judgements on entire institutions and across them. Binarism not only avoids seeing the grey but also stops us from seeing all the colours and shades that exist in real life.
Perhaps, in addition to understanding factors that underpin the psyche to hastily shift perceptions between heroes or villains and their consequences, a deep breath, and a slower gaze at the wider world can encourage us to see the colours and better identify all actors at play in any grand challenge. Adding colours to our mental models allows us to see park rangers not as isolated heroes or villains, but as part of a complex system.
It is only through a more holistic view that we can uncover innovative and interconnected ways to support park rangers in their goal of conserving our wildlife. DM
Dr Babar Dharani is a Senior Lecturer at the Allan Gray Centre for Values-Based Leadership at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business. This article is based on his work with Kruger Park rangers to build resilience against corruption.
