Tusk Conservation Awards

The Ranger Award is awarded to recognise the dedication and commitment of an individual who works in the field on a daily basis to protect Africa’s wildlife.

This award gives international recognition to the men and women who face danger every day.

Rangers often work for little reward, risking and regularly losing their lives to protect the world's wildlife and its fragile ecosystems.

The recipient of the 2024 Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award is:

Claver Ntoyinkima
Nyungwe National Park ranger, Rwanda Development Board

Claver was born and raised in Banda, a village that lies on the periphery of the Nyungwe National Park. As a young boy, he would play in the forest, stalking animals and challenging himself to find elusive bird species whose song were ubiquitous but sightings rare. It is here where the seeds for Claver’s passion of the natural world grew.

Claver’s fluency in English, French and Kinyarwanda combined with his passion of the forest made him a natural fit as a park ranger and tourist guide for the RDB. Initially Claver worked on the antipoaching team and played a key role in habituating primate populations, including massive super troops of black and white colobus and the Mayebe chimpanzee group. In addition to his expected duties, he serves as a mentor and good colleague to his peers through his willingness to share his knowledge, learn from others, and assist new staff integration.

Claver is a bridge between the park and the larger conservation community; his knowledge of birds extends beyond Nyungwe and is so exceptional that he has been seconded to assist research in other parts of the country including Gishwati where he assisted in a census of an Important Bird Area leading to a co-authored publication. He has also been requested for his expertise in Volcanoes National Park, Akagera National Park, Bugesera wetlands and Lake Kivu.

Claver is deeply committed to instilling a love of the natural world in future generations. He (voluntarily) established several youth conservation organisations in primary and secondary schools around Nyungwe. Claver meets with the youth regularly to train the organisation’s members in bird identification and guiding, nature interpretation, and species conservation. Claver demonstrates a constant and humble pursuit of knowledge, kindness towards people of all backgrounds, and deep love of and respect for the natural world.

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