ZAPWing Hluhluwe's expansion plans

There are hopes to repair a turbine helicopter that is currently grounded, due to a faulty engine as well as to expand the K9 unit - which was introduced last November - to a team of six dogs and three handlers - who will operate on the ground, on a full-time basis.

The three-prong, anti-poaching entity includes the aerial patrol, the K9 unit and a national police team and serves 25 game reserves - including Hluhluwe Park, which is 24 000 hectares of the 96 000 hectare Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.

Project Rhino’s Chris Galliers says because of ZapWing, poaching has dropped from 25% to 5% in just the last two years.

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He says they hope to create a more centralized K9 unit.

“We are gearing up towards hopefully expanding the dog unit to be able to offer patrols and tracking,” Galliers says.

He says they’ll likely use satellite station and send the dogs out for two to three days at a time, as opposed to woking them continuously.

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