The vital funds will go directly towards conservation, ranger support and anti-poaching in national parks across SA!
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (01 September 2025) – South African National Parks’ extraordinary volunteer organisation, known as the Honorary Rangers, are no strangers to the ‘humble hero’ status. They’ve donated their skills and time towards keeping national parks safe and wildlife protected.
Now, they’ve received some generous help thanks to the Comrades Marathon Association’s AmaBeadiBeadi charity initiative. With the incredible support of the marathon’s Race4Charity runners and donors, an incredible amount of R1,588,165 was raised for national parks across the country.
In Kruger, the portion of the funds raised will go towards renovating and upgrading anti-poaching facilities and kennelling for K9 anti-poaching dogs, and the training of two new dogs for K9 units. Cape Town’s Table Mountain National Park will also receive some much-needed help with the renovation and upgrade of dog kennels at the K9 unit.
Mountain Zebra National Park will benefit from improved wildlife monitoring as well as research and protection equipment, including 3 cheetah collars, one lion collar, and 3 camera traps. Over in the Northern Cape, Richtersveld National Park will get new security cameras to strengthen protection measures for endangered succulents, which are vulnerable to poaching.
Rangers who have worked to protect our national parks will benefit from the funding too, through Project Embrace, which supports rangers and their families at the frontline of conservation through trauma and stress management programmes and life skills training.
It shows what amazing things running to make a difference can do!
“The Comrades Marathon is not only a race of endurance, but is also a race of generosity in many ways. Every runner who chose to run for SHR, every person who donated, and the Comrades Marathon Association itself, have helped us take a significant step forward in protecting our wildlife and supporting our rangers and the onerous tasks of protecting our conservation areas,” says Ian Catt Treasurer of the KwaZulu-Natal Region of SANParks Honorary Rangers and Chairman of the SHR Comrades organising committee.
“Together, we are ensuring that the parks, people, and wildlife of South Africa continue to thrive for generations to come,” he adds.
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