July 31 is World Ranger Day, which celebrates the work rangers do for the natural world and commemorates those killed or injured in the line of duty.
Among them was Anton Mzimba, head ranger at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, where he had served for 25 years. On July 26, 2022, Mzimba was shot dead outside his home by two men, allegedly in connection with his rhino protection work. Four years later, the case remains open, with no arrests made.
“If a ranger of Anton’s standing and integrity can be killed for doing work that serves the greater good, and there are still no consequences for the people who perpetrated this crime, what confidence does that inspire in the men and women holding the line on the front lines of conservation?” John Jurko II, lead director of a documentary about Mzimba titled Rhino Man, told Mongabay by email. In 2024, Jurko II launched a “Justice for Anton Mzimba” campaign to help speed up the investigation.
Mzimba’s killing is being investigated by the Hawks, a specialized unit within the South African Police Service. Hawks typically investigate organized crime and police murders, but took over Mzimba’s case because of its links to rhino poaching and an ongoing investigation, according to Nico J. Gerber, the police general who heads the Hawks in Mpumalanga province, where Mzimba was killed.
Gerber told Mongabay by email the case “has progressed well” and the case file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions, which decides whether there’s enough evidence to bring criminal charges. “As the matter currently stands they declined to prosecute based on the available evidence,” Gerber said. “The matter is still being pursued and further leads are followed up as they emerge.”
Jurko II said justice for Mzimba is essential for his family, friends, and the generations of rangers and conservationists to come. “The system must back them up,” he said.
Rangers often work in dangerous environments, guarding elephants, rhinos, tigers and other wildlife against poachers and organized criminal networks. However, rangers themselves have also been a source of controversy. In some areas with military-style policing, rangers have been accused of human rights abuses, including deadly violence against local communities.
At the same time, rangers continue to be killed or maimed in the line of duty, at the hands of militias, poachers, mining mafias, or by the very wildlife they set out to protect. On March 3, for example, a militant attack on the headquarters of Upemba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo left three rangers and four civilian staff dead.
Between June 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026, at least 147 rangers were killed across 40 countries, according to the nonprofit International Ranger Federation (IRF). Forty-three of those deaths were homicides, while 32 rangers were killed in wildlife attacks.
Banner image: Anton Mzimba (front right) on patrol in Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. Image courtesy of Nick Smith/Global Conservation Corps.
