This World Ranger Day, we ask what keeps our rangers going?
Being a #ranger is a courageous and heroic job, but it is no easy feat. Not only is the job physically demanding, it is also filled with difficulties and risks. WWF's Forest Ranger Sin Satha shares how he finds his work rewarding!
© PDoE / WWF-Cambodia Chheng Sambo
As the chief of rangers in Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary in Cambodia, Mr. Sin Satha and his team spend days and nights patrolling the forest—struggling through thorny shrubs, scorching heat, and blasting thunderstorms—to look for snares and crack down on forest offenders.
Intense emotional challenges
In 2019, Satha saw a Banteng for the first time in his life—but it was caught in a snare. You can imagine how heartbreaking this sight is to rangers like Satha and his team. Although they saved many animals from snares, they also lost many of them likewise.
Trust, solidarity, and camaraderie
With the support of one another, the rangers confront unforeseen challenges in the forest on a daily basis. There are bad days when their motorbikes break down, when team members get sick or get lost in the dense forests, or even experience dangerous encounters with offenders.
Satha and his team confiscated illegal materials used by offenders. © PDoE / WWF-Cambodia
But there are also enjoyable times when they get to enjoy each other’s company and bask in the beauty of the forest, making their work rewarding.
“The dry forest becomes lively and cheerful with them running and flying. Without wildlife, the forest lacks beauty, and seeing the forests without the animals would be miserable for us,” Satha said.
Rangers like Satha put themselves at great risk to help safeguard the ecosystems that wildlife calls home, and that communities depend on for their livelihoods.
You can help our rangers and support our tiger conservation work by symbolically adopting a tiger here.
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