Africa’s largest annual event celebrating and challenging wildlife rangers launches today after raising more than US$25 million since 2020, with organisers warning the continent still has only one-fifth of the frontline rangers it needs.
The seventh Wildlife Ranger Challenge begins with two months of physical and mental challenges for ranger teams across Africa, culminating in the annual 21-kilometre race in September, expected to feature more than 2,000 rangers from over 150 teams across more than 20 African countries.
Organised by Tusk and the Game Rangers Association of Africa (GRAA), the Challenge was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep ranger teams operating. Six years later, it has evolved into the largest annual campaign celebrating Africa’s wildlife rangers while raising funds for the equipment, welfare, and training they need to protect some of the world’s most important landscapes.
Tusk estimates that while around 65,000 terrestrial and marine rangers currently work across Africa, around 345,000 are needed to manage the continent’s protected and conserved areas effectively.
At the same time, ranger work is becoming more dangerous. Rangers increasingly face organised wildlife crime, armed conflict, expanding human pressures on protected areas and the growing impacts of climate change. Many continue to work with limited equipment, inadequate training and no insurance.
Charlie Mayhew, President and CEO of Tusk, said: “Reaching $25 million is an extraordinary achievement and a tribute to thousands of people who have backed wildlife rangers over the past six years. But it should not leave us thinking the job is done. Rangers remain one of conservation’s most under-recognised workforces. Every day they protect wildlife, support local communities, respond to emergencies, and help safeguard landscapes that benefit us all. The Wildlife Ranger Challenge exists because they deserve greater investment, greater recognition, and greater support.”
The Challenge has become a catalyst for wider improvements in ranger welfare. It helped inspire the Ranger Welfare Standards Initiative, launched in 2024, which has already enabled almost 6,300 rangers to gain insurance cover, with a target of reaching 10,000 by 2030.
Today’s rangers perform far more than traditional anti-poaching roles. Alongside law enforcement, they monitor ecosystems, collect scientific data, respond to emergencies, educate local communities, reduce conflict between people and wildlife and help maintain stability in remote landscapes.
Louise de Bruin, CEO of the Game Rangers Association of Africa, said: “Rangers don’t ask for recognition, they simply get on with their work as essential planetary health workers, protecting nature and ecosystems, often in incredibly challenging circumstances. The Wildlife Ranger Challenge is an opportunity for the world to stand in solidarity with Africa’s rangers, investing in their safety, wellbeing and future, and ensuring they have the protection and support they deserve”.
Over the next two months, participating ranger teams will compete in quizzes, fitness challenges and a continental time trial before the campaign culminates on September 19, when thousands of rangers will simultaneously complete a 21-kilometre race carrying operational kit across Africa’s protected areas.
Pius Mutuma Mbiria, from Mount Kenya Trust, a conservation organisation in Kenya, said: “Rangers carry out important work conserving ecosystems and wildlife. Not everyone can do this work, as it comes with many challenges and risks. Supporting rangers means we rangers can protect the ecosystems that communities rely on more efficiently, with adequate resources and motivation despite these challenges.”
Cristian Kapugi, a village game scout with Honeyguide working in the Waga Wildlife Management Area in Tanzania, said: “I am taking part in the Wildlife Ranger Challenge because it is an opportunity to show my commitment to protecting wildlife. The Challenge tests us physically and mentally, and it reminds people that conservation work requires endurance, courage and discipline. As a ranger, I am proud to play a role in protecting wildlife and our natural heritage so that future generations can continue to see and benefit from it.”
The Challenge is supported by founding donor Mark Scheinberg, who match-funds $1 million, alongside other partners including the Disney Conservation Fund, EJF Philanthropies, and Defender. Supporters around the world can take part by running alongside Africa’s rangers virtually and raising funds through www.wildliferangerchallenge.org.
All funds raised go directly to participating ranger organisations to support welfare, equipment, training, and technology that strengthens their capacity to protect wildlife and the communities living alongside it.
