Aerial surveillance is needed now more than ever in an effort to curb ivory, bushmeat and rhino horn poaching, mitigate human-wildlife conflict and tackle broader threats to wildlife and habitats as a whole. It’s a vital tool and our eyes in the sky support our active ground teams in preventing illegal activities and apprehending poaching offenders. In addition, our Aerial Unit are on hand to help save the lives of many injured elephants and other wildlife species, not easily idenitfied on foot by our ground teams.

Flying on average 150 hours and covering 19,500km every month, our Aerial Unit takes part in daily security patrols, search and veterinary intervention for injured elephants and wildlife, as well as search and rescue operations for orphaned elephant calves and wildlife emergencies. Our Unit currently consists of 5 fixed wing aircraft and 2 rapid response helicopters, ensuring an immediate response to incidents and providing us the ability to deploy rangers and the SWT/KWS Canine Unit into the field.