''The Shamba Raiders: Memories of a Game Warden'' was written by

Bruce Kinloch Bruce Kinloch MC (27 August 1919 – 21 June 2011) was a British army officer, wildlife conservation leader and author. He was born at Saharanpur in India and educated at Berkhamsted School in England. Military career Kinloch was commissi ...

. It is a

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

account of his experiences in Africa and was first published in 1972. It proved so successful that a revised edition came out in 1988, and then again in 2004. The title refers to the marauding

elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and ...

destroying peasant crops, driven by heavy

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

pressure in wilderness areas, which formed the most urgent task for Kinloch. That his book is still in demand is a source of pride to him and his wife, Elizabeth, who accompanied him frequently and typed up the notes of his original book. "It is a book that never dies, its contents are as relevant now as ever," she said. ''The Shamba Raiders'' is an account of the struggle to preserve herds of game threatened by modern civilisation, poaching, war and the political and economic changes which have swept Africa in the middle of the last century. As the Chief Game Warden in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

and

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

, Kinloch walked the tight rope of retaining Africa's wildlife heritage while safeguarding crops and livelihood of the population, featuring ivory poachers and middlemen as well as uncaring and bigoted officials. In particular, the book describes Kinloch's management of the

Uganda Game and Fisheries Department The Uganda Game and Fisheries Department was the lead wildlife conservation agency of the Uganda Protectorate. It was merged into the Uganda Wildlife Authority in 1996. Wardens The Director of the Department was originally the Warden and later Chi ...

during the introduction of the Protectorate's first National Parks, the introduction of

Nile Perch The Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi , Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is wid ...

to the upper

Victoria Nile The White Nile ( ar, النيل الأبيض ') is a river in Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile. The name comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. ...

, and the creation of the

College of African Wildlife Management The College of African Wildlife Management (CAWM), commonly known as Mweka College or just Mweka, is located near the village of that name on the southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, above the city of Moshi, about 14 kilometres north ...

References

"Eyeball to eyeball with bull elephant," ''This is Herefordshire.'
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1972 non-fiction books 1972 in the environment 1988 in the environment 2004 in the environment Nature conservation in Uganda Environmental non-fiction books {{environment-book-stub