News

Twelve Junior Rangers from Karoo National Park honed their animal tracking skills during their most recent weekend visit to the Park.

Conservation student, Jody van Breda, took the learners through the session on Saturday 11 May – tracking lion, red hartebeest, kudu and other animals. While out in the Park, they also learnt about animal diversity, food chains and animal heritage. Judging by their excitement and feedback, it seems as if the Junior Rangers had a great time trekking and tracking through the Karoo.

The Junior Rangers are a group of high school learners from schools around the Park who showed a keen interest after the programme was promoted at the different schools. It is run by the Park’s People and Conservation Department in the form of Esna van Zyl and Jan Jacobs. The learners, who start in Grade 7 and carry on through until Grade 10, meet at the Park once a month on a Saturday to go through the SANParks course material.

Some of the topics covered under their curriculum include getting to know the Park, its history, medicinal plants, ecosystems, bird identification, animal identification through tracks and droppings, Karoo plant families, monitoring of animals, invasive plant species, etc. The SANParks Honorary Rangers in the Karoo region also assist greatly in transferring their skills onto the learners.

Media Enquiries

Fayroush Ludick
SANParks, Frontiers Region Communications Manager
Tel: (012) 426 5371, Cell: 082 888 0201
Email: [email protected]