When the recent senseless killings in Kenya happened, the last thing anyone thought was that they would be linked to poaching activities in South Africa.
But any war costs money and for al-Shabaab to be able to afford to carry out their the ruthless mission, they needed to have some source of income.
The research done after the attacks revealed that the one area where any African can make loads of money is ivory trading. Nicknamed white gold, ivory is taken from elephants, mainly through illegal means.
Poaching figures are recorded every month in Africa but strangely, ivory products are still sold openly the world over.
More disturbing is that while poachers are in the wrong for illegally killing these animals, they make the situation worse by the way they choose to kill them.
If they were a little less brutal about how they killed them, it would still be wrong, but not as damaging.
For instance, there was recent news in Zimbabwe that poachers had resorted to pouring cyanide in waterholes for elephants to drink.
Cyanide is acidic, so when the animal ingests it, it is burnt alive. It is the stuff that Hitler and his boys used in World War II to torture and execute their enemies.
Back to al-Shabaab. It is rumoured that this group has a 40 percent stake in the profits made off killing the elephants. That in turn means even though there is a huge anti-rhino poaching campaign going on in South Africa, it is having little effect. Something drastic has to be done.
Enter Al Jazeera’s Wildlife Warzone, a show about a team of trainee rangers whose mission is to protect endangered animals from poachers.
Coming from different racial and religious backgrounds, these rangers are willing to lay down their lives in the name of good.
A war has now been declared on the poachers and the rangers are willing to do what it takes to put their point across and stop this cruel crime.
The show’s director, Mark Strikson, is on record as saying his wife was concerned about his new project as they have a young son.
The show is not a re-enactment, it is the real deal. If the poachers are provoked, they will retaliate by all means necessary.
We will see the action in two South African locations, Shamwari Game Reserve and the wildlife reserves bordering the Kruger National Park. While the rangers may not necessarily win this war in one episode, we hope more than anything this show brings to light a dark trend that is on the rise in Africa.
We are likely to learn that the poacher is not really the problem – those who make millions out of the trade are.
Poachers are the remote-control puppets and probably have no idea about the real value of ivory.
Some businessmen and government officials, however, harvest the white gold and make enough to fund a small army. These are the people we hope to expose.
• Wildlife Warzone starts tonight at 10.30pm on Al Jazeera (DStv channel 406).