Farewell to Rudi Williams after 20 years at SANParks
Rudi was born on 8 May 1975 in a small town called Pniel nestled at the foot of Simonsberg in the Western Cape, South Africa. He matriculated in 1993 at Luckhoff High School in Stellenbosch.
Rudi started his career at SANParks in 1995 as a research technician with scientific services under Dr Mike Knight. In 2001, he was offered the capture coordinator position at the Veterinary Wildlife Services unit in Kimberley. In 2008, Rudi was appointed as operations manager. In 2021, Rudi left the organisation after 20 years of service to pursue his dream of starting his own game capture business in the private sector, called I4wildlife. It is impossible to summarise his impacts, however, Rudi has left a mark for all to remember in the parks he worked.
Although there are many career highlights, some of Rudi’s contributions include feats that at first seemed impossible until they were done. There was always a plan to get the job done in the best interest of wildlife and the organisation.
His contributions are numerous but some of the most note worthy projects include:
- capture and reintroduction of large mammals to Zinave National Park in Mozambique.
- black rhino range expansion, including capture, holding and introduction of black rhino (Diceros bicornis minor) from South Africa to The Republic of Chad.
- capture and translocation of 4400 animals from Kruger National Park to Greater Limpopo Transfrontier National Park.
- capture and relocation of over 3000 animals from Vaalbos National Park to Mokala National Park.
- capture and removal of all buffalo from Marakele National Park.
Photos: Lourens De Lange
This article was originally published in the 2021/2022 Research Report.
