SANParks officials in collaboration with police conduct safety checks at Kruger National Park. Picture: Supplied
South African National Parks (SANParks) is stepping up its commitment to safety and security in the iconic Kruger National Park (KNP) in Mpumalanga this upcoming festive season.
The parks’ authority said that as part of its Festive Season Crime Prevention Drive, there will be increased surveillance at all KNP entry gates in a bid to provide peace of mind to visitors and protect the park’s precious wildlife.
The initiative includes a series of enhanced protocols, such as rigorous spot checks of vehicles entering the park. These checks will aim to uncover any contraband and ensure that all occupants are verified against booking receipts.
Utilising cutting-edge technology, SANParks said it is implementing vehicle number plate recognition, remote vehicle monitoring, and radar surveillance, augmenting its traditional security measures.
Rangers and security personnel are also stepping up patrols within the park. Specialised dog units, equipped with free-running tracking hounds, will assist in this endeavour, ensuring a more detailed and far-reaching security approach.
Furthermore, the ongoing Integrity Management Plan will encompass Polygraph Testing as part of investigations to maintain the highest standards of integrity amongst SANParks personnel.
The parks' authority also revealed that said its Environmental Crime Investigation Unit (ECI) is intensifying its collaboration with other law enforcement agencies to bolster crime intelligence within the surrounding areas.
“They will be working hard with local communities to create a culture where ‘no bad deed goes unnoticed’, and criminals are brought to book,” said SANParks.
It added that its ongoing collaboration with Mozambican authorities continues to yield positive results with some of the crime kingpins now behind bars.
“Regular meetings, operation planning and sharing of intelligence has resulted in successful arrests of poachers.
“These security measures will also respond to the recent spike in poaching, especially snaring and poisoning which is indiscriminate, and hugely impacting,” said SANParks.
The authority also noted that there has been an increase in snaring inside the park, resulting in slow and painful killing of animals. However, it’s Honorary Rangers have assisted rangers with snare removal campaigns - removing up to a thousand snares from the KNP boundary in the past quarter.
SANParks also said that partnerships are integral to this fight against wildlife crime, and ongoing collaborations with various stakeholders, including the South African Police Service (SAPS), provincial government departments, local municipalities, private security firms, and businesses along routes leading to KNP, continue to yield encouraging results.
“Visitors are advised to be security conscious when checking in at the gates, ensure their cars are locked whilst checking surrounding areas for signs of any suspicious behaviour,” said the authority.