Costly Conservation: The Calling of an African Ranger

Otto Bam

Dewet du Toit works at a reserve as an anti-poaching consultant, about 50 kilometers from South Africa’s border with Botswana. I met Dewet years ago at a café owned by a mutual friend of ours, and we regulars spent much time in conversation at the counter. I was always struck by Dewet’s sincere way of speaking. He seemed somehow to see things from a different, more sober vantage point than others I regularly interacted with. Now, having followed his work in the area of conservation for the past few years, I have found that those intuitions pointed to a remarkable life of courage, conviction and sacrifice.