“I’m not a female ranger. I’m a ranger”: Meet the women dedicating their lives to saving animals from extinction

The call for gender equality echoes louder than ever. Women are natural communicators and nurturers, bringing a unique perspective to conservation efforts. UN research shows that women invest up to 80 percent of their earned income into their family, making them a lifeline for funding education, healthcare and fostering community resilience.

Women are not just breaking gender norms; they’re rewriting conservation rules, trailblazing a path where women stand alongside men in protecting endangered wildlife and wild spaces. But we don’t often hear about them. That’s why World Female Ranger Week is a pioneering platform to elevate the voices of these unsung heroes. The campaign has reached millions through the media and their grants program, shedding light on the invaluable contributions of female rangers and women in conservation worldwide.

I’ve seen first-hand how female rangers are impacting lives through education. As role models, educators and beacons of hope, female rangers are transforming attitudes towards the role of women within their communities and around the world. Here are five extraordinary women rewriting the narrative of conservation.

Purnima Devi Barman, Assam, India

Purnima is a biologist who recognized the ecological importance of the Greater Adjutant Stork, and has made it her mission to change the narrative around one of the world’s rarest birds. Often seen scavenging across sprawling landfill sites like Boragaon in Assam in northeastern India, storks have traditionally been considered ugly, filthy, and disease-ridden pests, but they play a crucial role in agriculture by consuming rats, snakes and insects, and protecting crops.

However, habitat loss, poaching, and poisoning have posed significant threats to their survival. Determined to shift public perception, Purnima began educating women in rural Assam, encouraging them to adopt and celebrate the bird. Some 15 years later, her efforts have culminated in the formation of the ‘Hargila Army,’ a group of 10,000 women named after the stork’s Assamese nickname, ‘bone swallower’.

By associating positive festivities like baby showers and bird-naming ceremonies with the stork, Purnima has successfully turned the bird into a cherished cultural icon. “Women taking the lead in conservation can achieve remarkable outcomes, as shown by our Hargila Army,” says Purnima. “We strive for gender equality and environmental sustainability. I’m a huge supporter of World Female Ranger Week as it allows us to unite and share our voices. Though challenges remain, we are determined to confront and overcome them.”

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Mariani ‘Bam' Ramli, Malaysia

Practically a one-woman band, Bam single-handedly founded the Gibbon Conservation Society a decade ago after a chance meeting with ‘Ellek,’ a confiscated infant gibbon. Despite her lack of knowledge, Bam volunteered to care for Ellek and learned everything she could about gibbons.

In a bold move to rescue other distressed gibbons, Bam sold all her possessions and relocated to a secluded estate, crafting a sanctuary that mimics their natural environment. Her outspoken criticism of gibbon ownership provoked backlash, with some villagers calling her a ‘witch’.

Yet despite enduring a decade of relentless challenges, Bam’s determination has forged a resilient organization: The Gibbon Conservation Society. Today, as the proud recipient of the inaugural World Female Ranger Resilience Award, Bam runs two rehabilitation projects to support gibbons and create livelihood opportunities for women and Indigenous people.

Recently, her efforts led to a breakthrough: A pair of gibbons successfully relearned wild behaviors and reproduced. “To create change in wildlife conservation, tangible actions and sustainable partnerships between organizations, women and Indigenous communities need to be applied,” she says.

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Neema Stephene, Tanzania

When it comes to flipping the narrative, Neema, once a victim of crop-raiding elephants, stands as a beacon of hope and innovation in Tanzania. Born in a remote village on the boundary of the Ngorongoro Crater, she grew up collecting firewood within the elephant corridor. “If we found elephants in the corridor, we’d run away, returning home without any firewood,” she recalls.

In Tanzania and wider Africa, the conflict between farmers and crop-raiding elephants is all too common. When elephants venture into farmland, destroying crops and threatening livelihoods, farmers often feel compelled to retaliate, leading to tragic fatalities on both sides. However, innovative strategies like beehive fences and the protection of wildlife corridors offer a way to break this cycle of conflict.

Why do beehive fences work? It turns out elephants are scared of bees so not only do the fences keep the elephants away from the farmers’ crops, but the women in these communities also get to process the honey and sell it.

Neema’s journey from fear to empowerment began when she joined the NARI Women’s Beekeeping Group. Here, she learned the art of beekeeping and sustainable agriculture, including how to process honey and use local plants as pesticides.

“I feared bees, but now they are my friends,” she says. By adopting these practices, Neema has achieved financial independence, improved her family’s well-being, and fostered a peaceful coexistence with the elephants.

Francesca Mahoney, founder of the NGO Wild Survivors who initiated the NARI Women’s Beekeeping Group, says, “Neema and the NARI Women Beekeepers are remarkable. They’ve bravely pushed past boundaries, facing their fear of bees to lead a powerful movement for women in conservation. Their impact goes beyond making honey; they champion female leadership and inspire the community to protect the forests and coexist with elephants. We are witnessing the incredible ripple effect of women empowering women.”

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Lili Rampim, Brazil

Lili, a biologist and the first woman to lead a team for the Onçafari Association which specializes in protecting the environment, especially for jaguars and maned wolves in Brazil’s Pantanal, the second-largest refuge for these predators.

Jaguars face severe extinction threats due to habitat fragmentation, deforestation, and hunting. When Lili began working in the Pantanal, she was seen as an ‘outsider’, not just because she was not native to that area (she was born and raised in the Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo), but also as the first woman to conduct habituation work in the Pantanal. Despite this, and through diligent research, Lili made groundbreaking discoveries about jaguar behavior and stress responses.

“We’ve developed a protocol to minimize their stress, recognizing each animal’s unique tolerance,” she explains. A pivotal moment in Lili’s career came when a jaguar mother they’d named Esperança entrusted her cubs to the team while confronting a threat, a sure sign of the trust they had built.

“By familiarizing wildlife with human presence, we facilitate ecotourism, offering an alternative income source and highlighting the economic value of preserving jaguars,” she adds. Lili and her team aim to expand ecotourism and create wildlife corridors that benefit jaguars and other species.

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Ellamess Faluweck, Malawi

“In our culture, people forget that a woman can be a ranger too, and can do any job a man does.” These are the words of 25-year-old Ellamess, the only woman in the 45-strong ranger team protecting wildlife in Malawi’s Majete Wildlife Reserve, operated by African Parks. Having grown up in the nearby village of Bwalo, Ellamess says, “My community is proud as we’ve produced a ranger from our village, putting it on the map, and they support that.”

In a society beset with gender inequality, Ellamess inspires other young girls: “They have the heart to become a ranger too,” she says. “It’s good to have female rangers in law enforcement as we bring a unique perspective, skills and approaches to the role. It’s a tough job; you need to be physically fit to handle the demanding tasks and you need courage, empathy and a genuine passion for nature.”

Ellamess has full support from her male colleagues and park management. “I do all the work the men do: Rhino monitoring, leading foot patrols, the control room, conservation etc. We all work together,” she says. “I’m not just a female ranger—I’m a ranger. In the field, they’re protecting me just as I’m protecting them.”

What Ellamess and all these women have in common is they embody resilience, determination, and hope in the face of adversity. They’re a catalyst for change in conservation, in their communities and beyond, and are, in their own ways, paving the way for gender equality.

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World Female Ranger Week takes place from June 23rd-30th 2024. Get involved to support and uplift female rangers and women in conservation worldwide.

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