Teacher_Book - General - Draft 23 - 2015

ACTIVITY 8
LESSON PLAN
DATE:
TIME:
TOPIC: Geographical Issue: Threatened Habitats (Rhino Poaching)
FOCUS: Ecological Dimension (ie: how the humans interact with the environment, in a negative way)
INSTRUCTOR (S):
STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED VIA:
Teacher driven x Individual
Student driven
Peer Tutoring
Discussion
x Lecture
Stations
Pairs
Groups
Teams
Simulation
Hands on
x Identification
Problem Solving
Storytelling
Games
Synthesis
x Analysis
Experiments
Technology
Puzzles
OTHER:
OBJECTIVE(S): Students will learn about: the techniques and equipment used by poachers to get the rhino horn and the damage the poaching
does to the environment.
PREPARATION: Familiarise yourself with this lesson by:
1. Watching the IAPF School Video Blog 5 (Ecological Dimension) (http://goo.gl/aTDJ3a) (10.27 minutes)
2. Read the ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION to understand the range of poaching methods.
TIME INSTRUCTION/METHODS MATERIALS
5 minutes Instructor: Settle the class by having an alphabetical seating plan, get silence, take the roll
and inform the students of classroom standards. Introduce the lesson: In today’s lesson you
will be introduced to the ecological dimension of poaching. Ecological dimension is how
humans are interacting negatively with the environment and the damage being done. Write
this up on the whiteboard (as it’s an important geographical concept).
15 minutes Instructor: Ask students to open up to Activity 8, then watch the IAPF’s School Video Blog 5
(http://goo.gl/aTDJ3a)
20 minutes Instructor: Select the students to read out each paragraph. When finished, dicuss and answer
any questions - may need to replay the video blog 5. Have students answer the questions on
the next page.
END OF LESSON
Dismissing the Class: Inform the students that the next lesson will be outdoors (unless
raining). Finish the lesson with students standing behind their desks, rubbish off floor and
quiet. Dismiss when this is done.
ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION
Poachers use a variety of techniques to poach wildlife.
• Students Activity
Book (Page 22)
• IAPF School Video
Blog 5
LOW RANGE TECHNIQUES:
Low range poaching techniques are low level, easy to obtain materials found around their local neighbourhood such as telephone line
cables and wires to breakdown and use as wire snares, machettes bought and sold at the local markets and spears they make themselves.
The locals are poor, low educated and will enter a game park for an lucky kill or are easily bribed by corrupt officials (eg police
officers, border and custom officials, freinds and family members) with the promise of $1000 to break into game reserves and get a rhino
horn or elephant tusk. Some locals are knowledgable as to how to use a piece of wood or stick to short-wire an electric fence which surrounds
most game reserves. They know the best time to break into a game park such as, during a full moon (because it’s easier to see
at night), after heavy rainfall (because they can easily dig underneath muddy electric fence lines), early evening when the sun has
just set or early dawn just before the sun comes up (because the cover of darkness is easier to hide from game ranger patrols). Once
into the game park, the poacher will be looking for rhino tracks, wallows and water holes to put their wire snares. If they come across
wildlife they will use the machette for protection or to hack down the animal.
COMMON TECHNIQUES (ANTI-TRACKING):
Poachers are very aware that there is a ‘shoot to kill’ policy in Africa which means, most game rangers (not IAPF game rangers) will
shoot on sight without question. So the risk of being caught and killed makes poachers be very clever in covering their presence in the
game park. The poachers will walk backwards to confuse game rangers, cover their feet with material to reseamble elephant footprints,
wipe away their tracks with shrub branches and hide behind or up a tree until game rangers on patrol pass by.
HIGH RANGE TECHNIQUES:
High range poaching techniques include all of the above in addition to being well organised, highly equipped dangerous groups
indivudals which are supplied smuggled in high powered weapons such as AK47s, microlight planes, M99 vet darts and cyanide poison.
These poachers are aggressive and highly skilled in anti-tracking and combat skills. They are heavily connected to corrupt officials
and smuggle out weapons and horn across custom borders, across rivers and in railway and trucks.
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