Graduation day comes early on Monday\u2019s episode of\u00a0Wildlife Warzone,\u00a0<\/i>which premieres on Al Jazeera English on Monday, 28 October 2013 at 22:30GMT.<\/p>\n
Of the nine anti-poaching trainees who began, only six remain by the final day of the grueling Protrack course. They have one final make-or -break challenge:\u00a0a 25 kilometre run, in the heat of the day, with full backpacks on for the final five kilometres.<\/p>\n
For 28-year-old Mandoza \u2018Freddie\u2019 Tshabalala, graduating is emotional. \u201cI’ve never been acknowledged for anything in my life; it was an amazing feeling,\u201d says the former paving contractor from Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s a very, very good feeling,\u201d echoes Chrisjan Visser, a 21-year-old Cape Tonian wildlife guide. \u201cWhen I was a little boy, teacher asked us to draw a picture of what you wanted to be when you grew up: I drew a picture of myself in the field with elephants and giraffes and lions and a stick. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve always wanted to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The six newly qualified rangers celebrate together, singing:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cProtrack boys can be bad, so hasty, so annoying.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Protrack boys can be bad and kill the poachers.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hooray for the holy Protrack boys.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Lunga Nyawe and Lionel Poney then head back to their families in the Eastern Cape. While Lunga must still find work, Lionel has a job waiting for him at Shamwari Game Reserve, named the World’s Leading Conservation Company and Leading Safari Lodge at the 2012 World Travel Awards.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Chrisjan takes the other graduates for a celebratory hike through the Drakensberg Mountains before they start working for Protrack.\u00a0Their first posting is in Limpopo at Selati Game Reserve, where three rhinos have been poached in the previous three weeks. For 16 days, they will live out in the bush.\u00a0Within minutes of starting, they\u2019re already on the trail of fresh poacher tracks\u2026<\/p>\n
This fourth episode\u00a0in the six-part series screens from Monday, 28 October at\u00a022:30GMT, with additional screenings on Tuesdays at 9:30GMT, Wednesdays at 03:30GMT, and Thursdays at 16:30GMT.<\/p>\n
Watch the episode promo (not viewable in all countries):<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=h7VkFDYYwoM<\/a>,<\/p>\n The full first episode:\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Q0ON_d36Y60<\/a>
\nThe full second episode:\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZH02iQfyBAs<\/a>
\nThe full third episode:\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=e7sDgwC30y0<\/a><\/p>\n