Gallery: The Young Women Who Hunt South Africa's Poachers—Unarmed

  • The Black Mambas Winnie
    Julia Gunther
    01

    18-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Twenty-two-year-old Winnie is proud to be a Black Mamba. “Many people don’t know that a woman can do this job,” she told Gunther. "We will show them that we can do it. We are proud of it. When our children grow up, they will know the big five and love and respect this nature.”
  • The Black Mambas Snares at the waterhole
    Julia Gunther
    02

    08-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Twenty-five-year-old Proud and 23-year-old Yezenkile disable a wire snare laid by bush meat poachers. “I love nature, \[and\] I want to know more and to stop the killing of rhino and elephant,” Proud told Gunther. “I want my child to know the rhino and the elephant and all the other animals.”
  • The Black Mambas The Fence
    Julia Gunther
    03

    10-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    A Black Mamba looks for tracks along the western boundary fence at Balule Nature Reserve.
  • The Black Mambas Field Trip
    Julia Gunther
    04

    03-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Members of the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit participate in a field trip to learn more about the flora and fauna in Balule, the nature reserve in South Africa they police. Here they examine an impala horn.
  • The Black Mambas Nkateko
    Julia Gunther
    05

    11-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Twenty-four-year-old Nkateko is a member of the Black Mambas and hopes it will help further her professional prospects. She told Gunther, "If you want to achieve something, you must work hard in life. I want to be a field guide. I have always known that I want to work in nature. If I get an opportunity to go to wildlife college, I know I will make it. I want to be at the highest level."
  • The Black Mambas On Patrol
    Julia Gunther
    06

    04-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Black Mambas march through the reserve during a morning patrol.
  • The Black Mambas Leitah
    Julia Gunther
    07

    19-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Twenty-two-year-old Leitah is among the youngest of the Black Mambas. She told Gunther, “I am strong, I am a woman, And I bite like a Mamba!”
  • The Black Mambas Dead Kudu
    Julia Gunther
    08

    07-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    On one morning patrol the Black Mambas found a dead kudu with a wound to its throat. Yenzekile reports the location and condition of the animal on her walkie talkie.
  • The Black Mambas Felicia amp Joy
    Julia Gunther
    09

    01-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Twenty-seven-year-old Felicia and 24-year-old Joy are members of the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit. Felicia hopes to eventually become a nature conservationist, while Joy would like to be a nurse.
  • The Black Mambas Snares at the Waterhole
    Julia Gunther
    10

    09-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Proud disables an animal trap near a watering hole at Balule Nature Reserve.
  • The Black Mambas Back At Base
    Julia Gunther
    11

    02-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Members of the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit convene outside the control room at their base in Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa.
  • The Black Mambas Hill Top
    Julia Gunther
    12

    13-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Nkateko and Happy (one of the two men in the Black Mambas) sit atop a lookout point.
  • The Black Mambas On Patrol
    Julia Gunther
    13

    06-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Black Mambas return to basecamp after a 20-kilometer patrol.
  • The Black Mambas Visual Policing
    Julia Gunther
    14

    17-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    Felicia carries a spotlight during full moon night patrol. The Black Mambas shine the lights into the bush to detect poaching activity.
  • The Black Mambas Full Moon Patrol
    Julia Gunther
    15

    15-BlackMambas-JuliaGunther.jpg

    During night patrol, the Black Mambas drive to observation points to watch and listen for activity in the park.
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