Ronja Haring is a field officer with the Endangered Wildlife Trust in the Greater Kruger area, working primarily with African wild dogs. She began as a student and stayed in the field. Her days are not routine. If a dog is seen with a snare or a pack turns up in the wrong place, she drops what she is doing and goes.
The work is direct and brutal. Some days she checks collars and records sightings. Other days she darts animals, cuts wire from flesh, stitches wounds and calls a vet. Two weeks can bring four snared dogs from one pack, and then nothing for a month. That unpredictability is part of the job. The EWT team’s fast responses in the Kruger area have saved lives.
Ronja cares about the dogs and she cares about people. She talks about finding a middle ground with citrus and livestock farmers and about working with communities so coexistence is possible. Her approach is not about headlines. It is about showing up every day and doing the work that reduces conflict and keeps packs together.
African wild dogs live in tight family groups. They are skilled hunters and deeply social. That closeness helps them hunt, but it also makes them vulnerable. A single disease or a cluster of snare injuries can wipe out a pack. Monitoring with GPS collars helps teams find dens, spot threats and move fast in emergencies. In South Africa roughly 650 wild dogs remain, and the Greater Kruger area holds many of them. That makes on-the-ground work here crucial.
Being a woman in a field shaped by men adds another layer to the work. Ronja does not want praise that is only for show. She wants to be respected for her skill and for what she gets done. Turning up, negotiating with landowners, spending long nights in the bush and making hard calls under pressure are the things that change assumptions and make room for other women to do this work too.
This is the kind of conservation that saves animals and supports people. Ronja’s steady hands, clear decisions and willingness to listen make a direct difference to dogs on the ground. Her work is not flashy. It is steady, necessary and it matters.
