Running 21 km through wilderness terrain, carrying a full kit, and against the clock… It might have seemed like an impossible task, but to Africa’s wildlife rangers, it was all in a day’s work. And that day was on 20 September 2025 – the date of the sixth annual Tusk Wildlife Ranger Challenge (WRC).
This year’s event saw teams of African Parks rangers compete across the 23 protected landscapes where they worked, within 13 different African countries.
The WRC is a true test of rangers’ grit, determination, resilience, and teamwork – qualities that they needed in their role as custodians of Africa’s biodiversity.
The African Parks rangers competed against and connected with teams from a total of 24 African nations. As in previous years, the 2025 WRC helped raise funds for conservation, enhanced the ability of rangers to perform their challenging roles, and created opportunities to focus on their well-being.
Since the World Ranger Challenge began in 2020, over US$21 million has been raised. In addition, the profile of many of Africa’s protected areas received a welcome boost, and thousands of supporters took part in their own versions of the WRC.
© WRC12
