CapricornReview.co.za - Full ArticleJanuary 11 2017
It has been decades since the last horses were used in KNP as they have been replaced by motorised vehicles.
LIMPOPO – The Kruger National Park (KNP) has had a long association with horses.
Merchants and explorers used horses to travel through the area but made sure to only do this during times when the Tsetse flies, which carried the deadly sleeping sickness, were less active. The Steinackers Horse Brigade was deployed to patrol the area during the Anglo Boer War. In the early days rangers were dependent on horses as their primary means of transport to fulfill their daily duties. A good horse was invaluable, especially if it had immunity against horse sickness.
History has recorded the legendary escapade of Game Warden Harry Wolhüter who was attacked by a lion while on horseback in the Lindanda area of the KNP. Wolhüter escaped miraculously by killing the lion with his sheath knife.
It has been decades since the last horses were used in KNP as they have been replaced by motorised vehicles.
This year marks the return of horses to active duty in KNP. Horses are now again being deployed for anti-poaching patrols and a pilot project has been launched to test the viability and effectiveness of mounted patrols.
Karien Keet, SANParks section ranger for Phalaborwa, is in charge of the pilot programme. Keet is the ideal person to manage the experiment as she has a long association with horses and is an experienced rider. She is a firm believer that it will not only be an effective tool in the fight against poaching, but that it will benefit conservation management too...
Read more here:
http://capricornreview.co.za/106060/mounted-patrols-return-to-knp-to-help-prevent-rhino-poaching/
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