Over the past week, the Lion Rangers from all eleven core lion-range conservancies joined together at Wêreldsend Environmental Centre in the Palmwag Concession to participate in First Aid training. Requested by Namibia’s Ministry of Health and Social Services, and by the Ranger’s themselves earlier this year, this training focused on ensuring the Rangers are equipped and knowledgeable around potential injuries and environmental illnesses they can encounter in the field. This also makes Rangers greater assets to their communities, particularly farmers and their families living far from definitive care at clinics and hospitals.

The Lion Rangers spend the vast majority of their field time in remote, rugged areas not easily accessible by vehicle and emergency services. Working in often hostile conditions, particularly given the frequent extreme temperatures of northwest Namibia, necessitates that the Rangers are able to adequately monitor their own wellbeing and respond to health emergencies. Additionally, working around potentially dangerous wildlife, and often being called upon to closely monitor lions and other carnivores, puts the Rangers into situations most people will never encounter.

First and foremost is the importance of accident prevention and safety. Cornelia Bauer, who has worked in first aid training for more than fifteen years, began the multi-day course with an extensive discussion about environmental hazards and risks of the Rangers’ work. Ms. Bauer then transitioned into practical scenarios where the Rangers assessed scene safety and learned first aid skills such as CPR, wound management, caring for ill patients, and splinting and dressing injuries, to name just a few skills.

Said Lion Ranger Director and Co-Founder, Russell Vinjevold, “the Rangers were really engaged by the focus on the practical uses of these skills. You could immediately see they were interested to be able to learn first aid and take back to their communities what they had learned.”

As Ms. Bauer said at the course’s conclusion, “these are incredibly important skills – they may save your life or the life of one of your fellow Rangers. But I hope you will never have to use them.” A sentiment to which each Ranger readily agreed.

Thanks to Ms. Bauer for providing this invaluable training. The program was implemented by the TOSCO Trust and supported by the KfW through the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia.