The K9 unit simulates the apprehension of wildlife poachers at their Newlands base. SANParks employs 112 rangers at the Table Mountain National Park of which 15 are members of the Sea, Air, and Mountain team (SEAM). These include a K9 unit of six fully trained dogs. Picture: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Cape Town - With 850km of trail and thousands of entry points, SANParks said it was ready to safeguard the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) this festive season.
Outlining its festive season safety and security plans for the park yesterday, park manager Megan Taplin said crime in the park was a spillover from that happening in surrounding areas.
“We get a lot of visitors to the park. We know that on the Cape Point side we get over a million visitors a year coming through one gate. The cableway gets over a million visitors a year and Boulder's Penguin Colony gets over 800 000 visitors a year,” Taplin said.
“Because of its proximity to the urban edge, this poses a threat because crimes that are perpetrated in the urban area spill over into the park.
“We have to remember that whatever is happening in the park is a symptom of what is happening in the urban areas,” Taplin said.
Since the start of its festive season campaign, six arrests through joint operations between SANParks, the SAPS and the City of Cape Town were enforced through the TMNP Safety and Security Forum.
SANParks employs 112 rangers in the TMNP, of which 15 of are members of the special operations rangers division, otherwise known as the Sea, Air and Mountain team.
They are highly skilled rangers with a K9 unit of six dogs and a specialised operations centre which supports the area integrity management of the TMNP.
This group covers multiple functions which include visitor safety, search and rescue for lost persons and wildlife crime such as abalone poaching.
The rangers in the TMNP recorded 36 apprehensions since their deployment in 2021.
Their presence in the marine protected area incorporating Cape Point, Simon’s Town, Hout Bay and stretching up to Robben Island has seen over 18 successful operations.
SANParks also advertised 20 vacant positions in its TMNP Ranger Services Department for nine field rangers, six section rangers, one senior section ranger, two field ranger sergeants, one liaison office and one information officer.
SANParks chief executive Property Mokoena thanked the rangers who dedicated their lives on a daily basis to ensure the safety of others.
“Conservation-wise, you can only do it through dedication and commitment and love. We appreciate our rangers who put their lives on the line,” said Mokoena.
francesca.villette@inl.co.za