Community Game Scouts

Programs

Community Game Scouts are a crucial part of our network of human-wildlife coexistence officers, working tirelessly as a special type of wildlife ranger to achieve a balance between people and nature.

APW-supported Community Game Scouts operate in over 700,000 hectares of communal lands adjacent to Tarangire National Park, home to a rich array of habitats and renowned for its large herds of elephants, African wild dogs, lions, and fringe-eared oryx. These areas are critical for the seasonal migration of wildlife such as elephants, zebra, wildebeest, and buffalo. Protecting these lands is essential for maintaining the biodiversity and health of the entire Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem, as well as sustaining the livelihoods of local pastoralists.

Who Are Community Game Scouts?

Distinct from traditional African wildlife rangers, Community Game Scouts include 11 men and women trained to protect wildlife and habitats while fostering positive relationships with local communities. Hailing from Loibor Siret, a community adjacent to Tarangire National Park, the scouts operate in four zones buffering the park’s eastern borders while responding to intelligence in a much wider area. Each year, members of the team also participate in (and often win!) the Wildlife Ranger Challenge powered by Tusk.

Community game scout patrols communal lands in Tanzania

Support Scouts This Summer!

Help support APW's coexistence officers, including Community Game Scouts and Warriors for Wildlife, by donating today. Your contribution ensures they can continue their essential work in protecting wildlife and fostering human-wildlife coexistence.

Contribute to annual stipends that incentivize coexistence officers to remain in these crucial roles.
Fund training and skills development to deploy the most effective tools to battle human-wildlife conflict.
Ensure that teams have the quality gear they need to patrol and serve the community, from boots to mobile technology.

Donate Now

Game Scout Activities

Community Game Scouts, similar to our Warriors for Wildlife, address human-wildlife conflicts and search for lost livestock and people. In addition, they protect wildlife and habitats from poaching, deforestation, and charcoal production. Uniquely, these scouts also collaborate with government wildlife rangers from Tanzania National Parks Authority and the Tanzania Wildlife Authority anti-poaching unit.

Ongoing Patrols

Duties include conducting foot, motorbike, and vehicle patrols to operate in four zones buffering Tarangire National Park. Scouts also respond to intelligence throughout the ecosystem and conduct joint patrols with TANAPA to maintain a collaborative relationship between the national park authorities and community members.

Wildlife Monitoring

Game scouts conduct semi-monthly wildlife counts. Each wildlife count consists of four transects, surveyed twice per month. Wildlife count data are collected via the ArcGIS mobile data collection application, Survey123. These data contribute to a database of over 11 years of herbivore population and movement trends.

Community Service

Rather than solely serving as anti-poaching rangers, game scouts are called to respond to crop raiding incidents and other human-wildlife conflicts, as well as attend village meetings to discuss ongoing rangeland and wildlife issues. This ensures they can facilitate positive relationships between community members and protected area management authorities.