Earlier this year when I was on a walking tour of Kruger we became very conscious of poaching in Kruger. We encountered more than one heavily armed anti-poaching patrol and our guide had several harrowing stories of encounters with poachers.

I must say that I loath poachers and revile them at every turn. I know that they are poor and often desperate, but I still hate them – there are better ways. So I was pleased to hear that one of those Kruger patrols recently bumped into and killed a poacher recently.

Apparently after midnight an anti-poaching patrol bumped into an unknown number of poachers. “A gun battle ensued between the rangers and the poachers. One of the poachers was killed.”

I admire the brave men and women (I saw several female rangers) who put their lives on the line to protect our wild animals.