Table Mountain National Park

Fynbos and mountains, Cape Point, Table Mountain National Park Photo: flowcomm on Flickr.

Table Mountain National Park to bolster security following attacks

SANParks is set to deploy an additional 120 park rangers to the Western Cape after the tragic death of a tourist in the Table Mountain National Park.

Table Mountain National Park

Fynbos and mountains, Cape Point, Table Mountain National Park Photo: flowcomm on Flickr.

Managing Executive for parks at South Africa National Parks (SANParks) Property Mokoena announced that more rangers will be posted to the Table Mountain National Park.

Reinforcements for Table Mountain National Park

The move comes after the news of the tragic death of a hiker from Ukraine and another 14 reported attacks in the Table Mountain National Park in 2019 alone.

Speaking at the World Rangers Day event held in Cape Town, Mokoena revealed that 120 new rangers would be deployed to the parks around Cape Town.

“We are in the process of appointing 120 rangers, who will be deployed in the different functional areas, of which safety is one of their priorities. The program is going to be funded by the national Department of Tourism and we welcome that and appreciate it.” he said.

“Monitors will be placed in all the Cape region parks including this national park, Table Mountain.”

Additional crime-fighting training

There are also moves to provide additional training for park rangers based in areas where criminal incidents are becoming more common, such as the Table Mountain National Park

“The training which we give to our rangers, we need to adapt to that setup because our rangers were originally trained to protect and conserve the biodiversity of the national parks,” Mokoena said.

“Most of the serious threats which face our rangers, especially in this area, is criminal activity which is done by people. So, it changes the entire modalities of a ranger today.”

The additional training will also be useful to rangers who are at the forefront of fighting poaching in South Africa as the nature of the conservation occupation in South Africa changes shape.

Tourist attack details

The news of the death of a tourist inside the Table Mountain National Park sent shockwaves across the world as the plight of hikers and nature enthusiasts was put onto the global stage.

The Ukrainian national is believed to have been in the Hout Bay area of the park when he was confronted by three assailants, who allegedly robbed and murdered the tourist.

Two suspects have been arrested for the crime, but it was very clear that more needs to be done to protect people inside South Africa’s national parks and this move by the SANParks and the Department of Tourism is sure to result in a chorus of support from local and international environment lovers alike.

Especially after the area had been flagged as a crime hotspot in the city as far back as March 2019, but nothing concrete has really been done about it until now.