RED RANGERS, defending nature's legacy, the tough way

363pp., maps, graphs, paperback, South Bound, Pinetown, 2026

ISBN: 978192835995

Otch Otto discusses the harsh realities of the illicit wildlife trade, focusing on the need to sever the poaching conduit at the source by making illegal harvesting intolerable, and outlines a militant, proactive approach to wildlife protection.

Colonel Gerhardus Petrus Otto, alias ‘Otch’ retired as the Chief of Staff South African Special Forces after 30 years in the military, and then spent 12 years working as a safety and protection consultant and programme manager across Africa and South-East Asia. After cooperating with rangers in terrestrial areas, and then adding his Special Forces Seaborne experience in Littoral Marine counter- poaching, given the dramatically rising ranger casualty figures over the past six years across Africa, he decided it was time to create a manual outlining a more confrontational method of wildlife protection.