Gallery: The Young Women Who Hunt South Africa's Poachers—Unarmed
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Twenty-two-year-old Winnie is proud to be a Black Mamba. “Many people don’t know that a woman can do this job,” she told Gunther. "We will show them that we can do it. We are proud of it. When our children grow up, they will know the big five and love and respect this nature.”
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Twenty-five-year-old Proud and 23-year-old Yezenkile disable a wire snare laid by bush meat poachers. “I love nature, \[and\] I want to know more and to stop the killing of rhino and elephant,” Proud told Gunther. “I want my child to know the rhino and the elephant and all the other animals.”
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A Black Mamba looks for tracks along the western boundary fence at Balule Nature Reserve.
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Members of the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit participate in a field trip to learn more about the flora and fauna in Balule, the nature reserve in South Africa they police. Here they examine an impala horn.
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Twenty-four-year-old Nkateko is a member of the Black Mambas and hopes it will help further her professional prospects. She told Gunther, "If you want to achieve something, you must work hard in life. I want to be a field guide. I have always known that I want to work in nature. If I get an opportunity to go to wildlife college, I know I will make it. I want to be at the highest level."
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Black Mambas march through the reserve during a morning patrol.
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Twenty-two-year-old Leitah is among the youngest of the Black Mambas. She told Gunther, “I am strong, I am a woman, And I bite like a Mamba!”
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On one morning patrol the Black Mambas found a dead kudu with a wound to its throat. Yenzekile reports the location and condition of the animal on her walkie talkie.
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Twenty-seven-year-old Felicia and 24-year-old Joy are members of the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit. Felicia hopes to eventually become a nature conservationist, while Joy would like to be a nurse.
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Proud disables an animal trap near a watering hole at Balule Nature Reserve.
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Members of the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit convene outside the control room at their base in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa.
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Nkateko and Happy (one of the two men in the Black Mambas) sit atop a lookout point.
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Black Mambas return to basecamp after a 20-kilometer patrol.
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Felicia carries a spotlight during full moon night patrol. The Black Mambas shine the lights into the bush to detect poaching activity.
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During night patrol, the Black Mambas drive to observation points to watch and listen for activity in the park.
