A conservationist working in Mozambique has tragically paid the ultimate price for protecting wildlife.

The manager of the Maputo Special Wildlife Reserve, Gilberto Vicente, was brutally murdered last weekend by six assailants armed with AK-47 assault rifles. This horrifying incident highlights the critical need for authorities and the legal system to handle wildlife poaching with the same urgency and effort as organized crime cases.

The murder reportedly occurred in Chigubatana locality, in Boane district, as Vicente was driving from the Maputo Special Wildlife Reserve to Maputo City. Vicente was killed instantly when eight shots were fired. His companion, Carlos Nunes, was seriously injured and is currently undergoing medical treatment at Maputo Central Hospital.

No attempt was made by the murderers to steal anything from Vicente’s Toyota Hilux, who immediately fled the scene in their own vehicles.

According to the International Conservation Forum and allAfrica.com, Vicente was a “thorn in the side” of organized poaching syndicates operating in the area, leading police to suspect that this was a contract killing.

Gilbert Vicente was working on a project to restock the Maputo Special Wildlife Reserve with large mammals imported from South Africa, as he had done earlier with Limpopo National Park, in Gaza province.

Sources: International Conservation Forum and allAfrica.com

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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