Skip links

Skip to Content
play

Live

Navigation menu

  • News
    • Middle East
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Ukraine war
  • Features
  • Economy
  • Opinion
  • Video
    • Coronavirus
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Sports
    • Podcasts
play

Live

In Pictures

Gallery|Environment

Fighting poachers in central Africa’s secret Eden

Sustained slaughter of elephants has now left fewer than 3,000 in the region.

Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
Machetes, knives, spades, and other equipment confiscated from poachers are laid out at Chinko's HQ. Poacher units are often armed by wealthy businessmen who bankroll the operations and profit from the kill. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
By Jack Losh
Published On 16 Aug 201816 Aug 2018
facebooktwitterwhatsapp

In 1889, an intrepid, 20-year-old American called William Stamps Cherry made a solo voyage up the Congo’s tributaries. His destination was Oubangui-Chari, a remote corner of the French Empire, in what would later become the Central African Republic (CAR).

From the capital, Cherry struck out into uncharted wilderness. He was completely alone, save for a double-barreled rifle. This hunter from Missouri found a land brimming with wildlife.

“There is no way of estimating the number of elephants in the interior,” he wrote in his journal. “It may be five hundred thousand. It may be a million. I think more likely millions.”

Today, more than a century on, the sustained slaughter of elephants has now left fewer than 3,000 in the region, with perhaps just a few dozen in the Chinko reserve, a vast area of wildernesses in the heart of the continent, surrounded by various civil wars.

Fuelled by the demand for bushmeat and ivory, decades of poaching have decimated an extraordinary mix of species. But remnant populations have endured the carnage and habitats remain intact. Conservationists are now battling to restore Chinko’s swaths of rainforest and wooded savannah to their former glory.

The park is managed by David Simpson, a charismatic 30-year-old from England who counts reformed poachers among his team of rangers and trackers. Ongoing conflict, however, complicates their efforts. War erupted in the country in 2013 when the Seleka-coalition of predominantly Muslim rebels-overthrew the government.

The coup sparked clashes between the rebels and vigilante groups known as the Anti-balaka, in which thousands died. Fighting is again on the increase as the Seleka alliance splinters.

Run by conservation non-profit African Parks, Chinko is at the centre of a humanitarian disaster. In March 2017, more than 300 civilians fled into the park to find refuge from marauding militias. Employees at Chinko offered this terrified community food and shelter, setting up a temporary camp for them deep in the savannah.

At last, after more than a year in exile, these internally-displaced people have now returned home. 

Poachers, illegal miners and rebel militias all operate with impunity in this anarchic region. Another threat comes each dry season when cattle herders-and their thousands of cows-migrate southwards from Chad and Sudan in search of pasture.

These armed nomads kill game and light uncontrollable fires to clear a path, their herds have been blamed for spreading disease and overgrazing land.

Just a few years ago, cattle had overrun the park. Aerial patrols recorded barely any wild animals. But this bleak scene has changed dramatically.

Chinko has a team of negotiators-many from herding families-who meet pastoralists, offering food supplies to encourage them to bypass the park. Now, a single flight in a bush-plane takes in multiple species. 

On one patrol, as the setting sun cast the plains in a purple glow, one of Chinko’s tiny aircraft soared above a pod of hippo, a troop of baboon and, further on, two herds of buffalo grazing close to bounding hartebeest.

Increased sightings and fresh tracks suggest that lions and elephants may be bouncing back, too.

This little-known sanctuary is almost twice the size of Yellowstone-resources are stretched and incursions by poachers persist. But life, finally, is finding its way back into Chinko.

Reporting for this story was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
Cedric Ganiere, one of Chinko's pilots, flies over a bush fire on the savannah in his tiny, two-seater plane during a mission to spot blazes and cattle herders. During the dry season, nomadic pastoralists leave the arid Sahel with their massive herds, hunting game and burning forest on the way southwards. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Advertisement
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
Lebron Baroka, an 18-year-old from the militia-held town of Bangassou, works as a tailor at Chinko. He is among hundreds of locals employed by the park in roles as diverse as builders, farmers, mechanics, medics, rangers and trackers, making Chinko the biggest employer outside of CAR's capital, Bangui. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
The River Chinko winds through the south of the park, surrounded by lush tropical forest. In its waters are fish, crocodiles and hippo - all attractive targets for poachers who sneak into the reserve. Park manager David Simpson wants to keep them out but says a protected habitat will even benefit hunters: 'Chinko can be a basin of wildlife that, as it fills up, will spread out into the communities beneath the river system,' he says. 'If animals wander outside the boundaries, then that’s fair game'. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
Davis, a Chinko employee, monitors various screens in the park's control room where software plots ranger movement, bush fires and other crucial information on a Google Earth map. Without this nerve center - and two small bush-planes conducting aerial patrols - the park's law-enforcement team would be blind. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
Oumar Abdouly, 24, recuperates in Chinko's clinic after falling ill with parasites. Behind him an extremely-ill boy rests on a hospital bed. Both are among hundreds of Muslims who were displaced by fighting and given refuge by Chinko. When he's not convalescing, Abdouly uses his time in exile to work as a mechanic for the wildlife reserve. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
Dieudonne, a ranger, returns from patrol and hands his weapon over to senior ranger Saint-Cyr in Chinko's armoury. Despite an arms embargo on the country, Chinko managed to secure an exemption from the UN last year to import a cache of machine-guns from Bulgaria to bolster law-enforcement operations around the park. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Advertisement
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
One afternoon, several Chinko employees flew out by helicopter to meet with a community of around 300 displaced civilians sheltering in the park. At night, lion and hyena stalk their temporary shelters. Here, women and children uprooted by the violence sit outside a hut in the makeshift camp. Apart from the support given by park management, life in the bush means that the youngsters are missing out on their education - as are a third of all children nationwide due to the unrest. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
At the end of a meeting, Simpson joins the elders in prayer. Palms turned skywards, an elderly imam quietly intones an age-old mantra. On the left in red is Amadou Boukar. After the meeting he says that his community 'would have nothing without Chinko - we could not survive alone ... All we need is peace.' [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
Rangers go on a morning jog down the main airstrip at the Chinko wildlife reserve. Patrols in the bush can last for days, with many miles covered. Good fitness is essential. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
Armand sits with fellow rangers to practice taking apart and reassembling their rifles during a training session at Chinko's main base. It's almost impossible to import any more firearms legally into the country. So the guns they do have must be kept in excellent working condition. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
Rangers arrive at Chinko's shooting range to practise firing a recently-arrived haul of PKM belt-fed machine-guns. In time, some of these will be taken out into the field, others will be deployed around the main camp for security. These are powerful weapons - each shot sends a loud crack echoing across the savannah. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
Sunday is wash-day. Chinko workers head down to the forest near the reserve's main camp to chill in the shade, listen to music and wash their clothes and other belongings in a stream. [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
After days of pursuit, Chinko's rangers have caught two suspected poachers deep in the Chinko bush. A raid on a their camp uncovered shotguns, machetes and carcasses of antelope, buffalo, crocodile, hippo and monkey. Here, two suspects board a helicopter to be flown back to base for questioning. Before the flight, one of them, a father-of-one in his late 30s whose wife is pregnant with their second child, told me that hunting was the only way he could make ends meet for his family: 'There are no opportunities. I do this to survive.' [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Fighting poachers in central Africa''s secret Eden
A family of warthogs strays into the main base in Chinko. They're a new addition here. As conservation efforts take hold in the reserve and poachers are pushed out, more wildlife is springing up. 'People make conservation complicated,' says Simpson. 'It's not complicated. You just stop the people killing the animals, and then you're done. How much do I deal with animals on a daily basis? Zero. I deal with people. Sort that out, and the animals are fine.' [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]
Spotted during an aerial patrol, hartebeest - a type of antelope
Spotted during an aerial patrol, hartebeest - a type of antelope - are seen bounding through the Chinko plains, in an area previously overrun with cattle, now fully protected. In the words of Peter Fearnhead, the CEO of African Parks: 'Chinko portrays hope in a situation where everything is stacked up to be doom and gloom. We are not allowing Eden to be lost. We are in the process of bringing Eden back.' [Jack Losh/Al Jazeera]


    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Community Guidelines
    • Work for us
    • HR Quality
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Apps
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • rss
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2023 Al Jazeera Media Network