Vigilance in the Bush: The Amaganyane Anti-Poaching Unit Saves a Snared Elephant

Conservation wins are built on long hours of quiet dedication and teamwork. Recently, we had yet another reminder of why this work matters.

Our Amaganyane Anti-Poaching Unit spotted an elephant moving near the helipad of Matetsi Victoria Falls, with a steel cable snare wrapped tightly around its front left leg. Snares are silent killers, often built for smaller animals; however, they will trap anything that walks through them, even an animal as big as an elephant, causing injuries that can become life-threatening.

But what made this sighting even more remarkable was where the elephant was found.

The injured elephant had moved into an area close to the luxury safari lodge. In this landscape, wildlife patrols are frequent, and elephants are often seen moving safely through the area. The Amaganyane have successfully de-snared several elephants on Matetsi Private Game Reserve. It raises an intriguing question: could the elephant have instinctively moved toward a place where it might find help?

Elephants are known for their remarkable intelligence, deep memory, and awareness of their surroundings. While we may never know whether this was a coincidence or instinct, the elephant had come to a place where people committed to protecting wildlife were nearby.

And because of that, the story took a hopeful turn.

The Daily Work Behind the Victory

This story did not begin when the elephant was freed or even when it was first sighted. It began with the Amaganyane team’s daily patrols, the routine, disciplined work of moving through vast stretches of bush, scanning for signs of illegal activity, constantly sweeping for snares, and monitoring wildlife.

During one of these patrols, close to Matetsi Victoria Falls, the APU team spotted the elephant, recognized the severity of the situation, and the team immediately took action. They maintained visual contact for as long as possible, carefully tracking the elephant for hours to ensure that it did not disappear back into the thick bush where it might suffer unseen. It is this kind of dedication, often unseen and rarely celebrated, that defines the work of the Grace Foundation’s anti-poaching unit.

Their role is not just about removing snares; it is about protecting wildlife every single day through presence, awareness, and rapid response.

Conservation is a Team Effort

When dawn came, the next stage of the rescue began. Expert tracking allowed the team to follow the elephant’s movements and identify its location in good time for veterinary expertise from the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust (VFWT) to intervene safely.

The VFWT team successfully darted the elephant, sedating the pachyderm and allowing our experienced team on the ground to approach safely and remove the steel cable snare that had been cutting into its leg. It was a crucial moment, the culmination of hours of tracking, coordination, and trust between teams.

This wildlife rescue perfectly illustrates something the conservation community understands deeply: no single organisation can do it alone. True impact comes through collaboration, shared expertise, and a collective commitment to protecting wildlife.

A Future Worth Protecting

Watching the elephant stand again, and walk away free from the snare, was a powerful reminder of the importance of the Amaganyane team’s daily patrols and their dedicated conservation work. Moments like this make every step through the bush worthwhile.

Every patrol, every track followed, every snare removed is part of a larger mission: ensuring that wildlife in this vast wilderness thrives. With Matetsi Private Game Reserve at the heart of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area landscape, the vitality of this area, with its abundant biodiversity, is essential to ensuring a thriving interconnected ecosystem within the region.

For us at GRACE Foundation and our Amaganyane Anti-Poaching Unit, this is why we do the work we do, together with our partners, we are creating real change for wildlife on the ground.

Hero 

A Snare, a Patrol, and a Second Chance

During a routine patrol near Matetsi Victoria Falls, our Amaganyane Anti-Poaching Unit discovered an elephant with a steel cable snare cutting into its front leg. Through rapid action, expert tracking, and collaboration with veterinary partners, the team was able to locate, sedate, and safely free the elephant.

Moments like this remind us that conservation is built on vigilance, teamwork, and the unwavering commitment to protect wildlife, every patrol, every snare removed, and every life saved, helping secure a future for elephants in this remarkable landscape.