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Ms Erna Goodwin, who passed away on July 23, 2001, mentioned in her will that the Kruger National Park would be the main heir of her estate.

During his address, the Acting Director: Kruger National Park Mr Josias Chabani said that his heart was warmed to learn that there are people who share the love for wildlife and will go to great lengths to show their affection to this special place called the Kruger National Park.

Ms Goodwin would have visited the Park during 2001 but, unfortunately, she could not realise this due to a sudden illness. This illness led to her passing away.

“Ms Goodwin must have been a special kind of a person indeed to bequeath her wealth to the animals that inhabit our African paradise,” Mr Chabani said. She specifically asked that the executor of her will, Mr Uwe Paaz, from Baden-Baden, Germany, should hand over the money to a representative of the Kruger National Park and to make sure that the money involved should be employed to favour the animals.

“We have decided that this much-needed money should be used to purchase hitech-tracking equipment which will enable our game rangers to accurately gather and interpret data from the network of field rangers that cover the vast area on a regular basis,” Mr Chabani explained.

Called CyberTracker, the equipment consists of a palm-held computer with a GPS system which, at a touch of the screen, enables rangers to record data that they acquire during their regular patrols.

On their return to the ranger”s station, the field rangers download this data into computers, which is then available to section rangers and scientists.

“And it is equipment such as the CyberTracker that will become even more critical when the dream of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park is realised.

“With Kruger as its South African component, the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park will see the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique and three wildlife sanctuaries in Zimbabwe, namely the Gonarezhou National Park, Manjinji Pan Sanctuary and Malipati Safari Area linked together as one giant Peace Park.

“And, just like this Transfrontier Park will straddle borders, this donation has further cemented the already strong relationship between Kruger and Germany,” Mr Chabani said.

“It is hoped that South Africans will also learn from this event that the act of conservation doesn”t come cheaply and that we need money to do our honorable task,” Mr Chabani concluded.

Germans make up one of the biggest components of the international visitor profile of Kruger and their passion for wildlife is almost legendary.

Issued by:
Raymond Travers
Media Relations Practitioner
Kruger National Park
Tel: (013) 735-4116; Cell: 082-408-1660
Email: [email protected]

Enquiries:
William Mabasa
Public Relations & Communication Manager
Kruger National Park
Tel: (013) 735-4363 Cell: 082-807-3919
Email: [email protected]