Carrying the Torch ft. Leitah Mkhabela of the Black Mambas

National Park After Dark

Danielle LaRock & Cassandra Yahnian

True Crime, Places & Travel, History, Society & Culture

4.6 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 30 December 2024

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today we are joined by Leitah Mkhabela of the Black Mambas - the world's first officially formed, registered and recognized all-women anti-poaching unit that operates within Greater Kruger National Park. She highlights the importance of educating and inspiring the next generation to care for our wild world and how her life is a reflection of one of her greatest teachers - her cousin Anton Mzimba.Justice for Anton - sign the petition, donate to the cause and learn more about the movement to bring Anton’s killers to justice HERELearn more about the Black Mambas HERE and support the Bush Babies HEREFor a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to this week’s partners!Liquid IV: Use code NPAD at checkout to get 20% off you first order.Sierra Club: Book your 2025 trip today at sierraclub.org/outings, and use code NPAD to get $100 off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, everyone, and welcome back to National Park After Dark. We have a very exciting interview to share with you today.
0:07.4	Yeah, we're really excited. This is definitely a, if you're in a woman empowerment mood this morning or whenever you're listening to this podcast, this is your episode because this is a very inspiring one.
0:19.0	Today we are speaking with Leita Mkabela, the supervisor for the Black Mamba's anti-poaching
0:24.3	unit.
0:25.2	Founded back in 2013, the Black Mambas are the world's first officially formed, registered, and
0:30.9	recognize all women anti-poaching unit that operates within the Greater Kruger National
0:35.5	Park area that works to combat poaching through both physical patrols and community engagement efforts.
0:42.3	The Black Mambas act as the first line of defense against wildlife criminals.
0:46.3	Their peaceful community-focused efforts allow them to detect suspicious activity early.
0:51.4	And on their foot patrols, they search for snares, human footprints, and other
0:55.2	indicators of poaching activity. And when they find evidence of illegal activities, they are the
0:59.8	first to report it and call in for backup. Leita also has a close connection to the Rhino Man documentary,
1:05.1	which we have done several episodes on with director John Jerko. Lata's cousin was Ranger Anton Mzimba, who served as a powerful
1:14.0	mentor in her journey to becoming a ranger in what has traditionally been a very male-dominated
1:19.7	occupation. Her cousin Anton was murdered for protecting Kruger National Park from Rhino poachers.
1:25.9	And if you'd like to hear more about his story,
1:28.0	we're going to talk about it in depth today as well, but we did two episodes on it already on our
1:33.3	podcast on episodes 92 and 185. Over the years, Lata has accomplished so much dedicating her career
1:40.2	and much of her life to wildlife protection advocacy, community outreach programs,
1:45.4	and charitable organizations. Her position in the Black Mambas and their commitment to conservation,
1:51.4	education, and women empowerment is really inspiring. And we are so excited and honored to speak
1:57.7	with her today. And before we get into it, we talk a lot about the community
	...

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