JUBA, Aug. 26 — South Sudan graduated 50 newly trained wildlife rangers on Tuesday to bolster protection for Badingilo National Park and its surrounding landscape, home to one of the world’s largest terrestrial mammal migrations.
Recruited directly from local communities near the park, the new rangers will join a joint initiative by the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism and African Parks to combat poaching and safeguard the vast ecosystem. “Continuous training was essential to strengthening wildlife protection, noting that commercial poaching remained a serious concern in parts of the Badingilo landscape,” Khamis Adiang, director general for wildlife service in the ministry, told reporters after the graduation ceremony at the Badingilo National Park headquarters. John Vogel, Badingilo National Park manager of African Parks, confirmed that recent aerial surveys recorded approximately six million antelopes across the landscape, solidifying the movement as the largest land mammal migration on Earth. According to Vogel, the 50 new rangers were recruited following extensive consultations with local communities and traditional leaders across areas spanning from Gemeza and Mangala to Lafon.
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