Local Paul Coppo lives two different lives. In Ingham, he is a cane farmer, and he enjoys the work, but his other life takes him to southern Africa.
In Africa, Paul helps and assists anti-poacher rangers. The rangers he helps are highly skilled, and before Paul assists them with upskilling, they go through a demanding selection course
and intensive training.
Anti-poacher rangers are funded internationally and are special rangers with skills that help
protect endangered species from poachers who wish to harm animals.
Paul trains rangers by teaching them additional skills like Close-Quarter Fighting (CQF),
survival skills, interrogation tactics, and evidence gathering. Paul also noted that 90 per cent
of the Rangers could not swim, so he developed a Water Confidence and Survivability
Course.
“In a morning, I take them from not swimming to being able to duck dive and survive,”
added Paul.
“We don't turn them into Olympic swimmers, but we give them survival skills, and I am very proud of that, because, to my knowledge, I'm the only person in Africa doing that.
“I go in and try to upskill those people to make them more effective at their job. I want to say that the Rangers are always super motivated, incredibly fit, intelligent, very effective at what they do, and they relish the opportunity to learn.”
Paul doesn’t just train rangers; he also does operations, which involves entering the field, and Paul loves it.
“I enjoy working with the Rangers as individuals. I have established relationships with quite
a few of them, whom I call my brothers; we are very close,” said Paul.
“I love being out in their bush, and it is very demanding physically; on a standard day, you
will do two patrols, averaging about 16 to 25 kilometres a day.
“What I like about it is the rangers and management appreciate every bit of assistance.”
His contributions and skills have seen him recognised as a Game Ranger and Tracker Trainer Specialist.
Paul thoroughly enjoys assisting in training in Africa and said he likes using his unique skill
set to help the anti-poaching rangers become more effective at their jobs.
He sees himself as a wildlife conservationist and says, “I believe I am making a difference for people and animals, which effectively helps humanity. The world becomes a poorer place when you lose a species.
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