How did your family react to the news that you would be out in the bush without any guns or weapons?

My husband was very positive about this. He said, ‘You are going to make a change in our communities and in our kids and in our future generations.’

My mother was scared. She said, ‘These people are going to kill you!’ I explained that it’s not only for me but for future generations. They need to see wildlife in real life, not in postcards.

She is not scared anymore because she realized how great a job we are doing. My life is not in danger. These poachers are not in the reserve for the human beings, they are there for the animals. If they see us they don’t come after us. They just run away.

I know how to interact in the bush. So, I don’t feel in danger when I’m in the bush. I don’t go alone. We work in a group.

What was your scariest moment?

In 2014, I was with two of my colleagues patrolling the fence. There was a car parked next to the fence. They were outside the reserve and we were inside. If we see cars we greet them with smiles, but these people did not want to speak to us. They were poachers. I was scared. But we were not going to leave them there. We needed to show them that we are here with pride and we know what we are doing. They saw us try to take their number plate. We managed to scare them. They drove away.