Driving through Serengeti, tourists rarely encounter signs of the dark side of the seemingly paradisiac landscape. But like in any place throughout Africa that is teeming with wildlife, Serengeti is also a crime scene. Poachers enter the protected areas and set snares, thousands of snares. Although the ongoing poaching crisis in Africa has so far spared Serengeti, it warrants intense protection of the Serengeti’s elephants and black rhinos.

Poaching constitutes wildlife crimes that reach from traditional forms of hunting that become illegal when an area gains protected status to internationally organized crime. In Tanzania, “any act directed or incidental to the killing” of any wild animal in a National Park is prohibited by law. Penalties vary depending on the animal involved, ranging from one-year to five-years imprisonment and can include additional fines. However, enforcement of the National Parks Act and the prosecution of traffickers of wildlife products remain a challenge.

The most prevalent form of poaching in Serengeti is snaring. Poachers enter the Park at night and set snares on the game passes. They usually target wildebeest and antelopes to sell their meat. Snares are set in long lines or in bottlenecks between thorny hedges that force the animals to pass through. Once an animal entangles itself the snare pulls tight, suffocating or severely injuring it. Poachers kill the animals, cut and dry the meat and transport it, again at night, to often nearby market places. Throughout Africa, there is demand for ‘bushmeat’ and poachers are supplying the markets at an industrial scale.

Estimates of the number of wildebeest that are taken each year run as high as 100,000. And the snares are deadly traps for many other animals like zebras and buffalos and some that are not even targeted. Predators like lions and wild dogs, following the tracks of their prey, are decoyed into the traps. Even elephants get entangled and suffer injuries to their trunks or feet. And it is a great concern to conservationists that one of the Serengeti’s few black rhinos could eventually be killed by a snare injury.

Poaching for meat has a potential to disrupt the ecosystem’s integrity. But it is poaching for money that could drive species to extinction. Elephants are hunted for their tusks and rhinos for their horns. In the 1990s, only two females of the Serengeti’s black rhino population were left. They were joined by a bull from the Ngorongoro Conservation area and additional animals were introduced. Today, the population is gradually recovering, though the total number of rhinos is still relatively low.

In recent years, poaching for ivory had reached crisis levels, severely decimating populations in protected areas throughout Tanzania. Because of better protection, Serengeti has been spared and elephant numbers have actually been increasing, due to reproduction and migration. But the threat remains: the well-organized and heavily armed poaching gangs could turn to Serengeti.

Fuelled by growing markets and growing demand for luxury goods in Asia, prices for ivory and rhino horn have soared. The illegal trade is well organized, with traffickers shipping the wildlife products from Africa to supply international markets. So far, few of the poaching kingpins leading the criminal cartels have been arrested and trialled. This is in part due to the high level of organization and a lack of international coordination in prosecution. While the African ecosystems take the toll, the highest profits are usually generated much further down the supply chain and outside of Africa.

The Serengeti National Park Authority coordinates the anti-poaching measures in place. Ranger patrols, on foot or motorized, aerial surveillance and special units to protect rhinos or collect snares. Frankfurt Zoological Society provides critical financial and logistical support and know-how for resource protection, threat monitoring, and park management. Anti-poaching strategies are a focus of our joint efforts.