The vast, dangerous landscape of Greater Kruger National Park is the setting for a crucial documentary by Project Happiness, which aims to explore the most remote corners of the planet and meet guardians of ancient secrets, women and men with extraordinary stories and lives that can inspire us. In this challenging environment, Project Happiness followed the Black Mambas, the world’s only all-female anti-poaching unit, who are dedicating their lives to protecting the continent’s most vulnerable animals, including the black rhino.
The Project Happiness crew, led by Giuseppe, faced the inherent dangers of the "BIG FIVE AREA", where lions, leopards, hippos, rhinos, and elephants roam. As Giuseppe noted, "It’s a new feeling to walk knowing there could be lions, rhinos, hippos, and elephants around you". The film highlights that only "those who can listen to the tiniest details survive".
The women of the Black Mambas are born here, raised in this community, granting them unmatched knowledge of the land. They are trained to move through the savannah like predators, reading tracks and listening to silences. Their core mission is protecting ancient animals like the black rhino, which have been "pushed to the brink of extinction" by men who kill them solely to rip off their horns and sell them on the black market.
Their success has been monumental: poaching here has dropped by 60 percent thanks to their efforts. Despite this "huge result," hundreds of protected animals are still killed daily "for meat, for skin, for teeth, but above all for human greed".
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The unique and defining characteristic of the Black Mambas, as documented by Project Happiness, is their choice to work unarmed. Ranger Nkateko, the charismatic leader who has faced the "Big Five", guides the patrols. The decision not to carry weapons is a conscious strategic and philosophical choice. They do not believe in confrontation or violence, focusing instead on preventing poachers from being able to operate. Their main purpose is "not here to kill" or to "create even a fight or a war with the poachers," citing the high number of armed rangers who have been killed.
The unarmed approach is an "excellent deterrent" because poachers know the women are defenseless and usually run away when encountered. Crucially, the decision is rooted in a desire to "cherish life" and avoid communal violence. Since some poachers originate from their own community, the rangers fear that if they were killed, the poachers would return to "take revenge by killing our loved ones".
A major part of their daily patrol is removing the deadly traps left behind by poachers. These snares are "simple steel wires" made into "invisible nooses in the grass," designed to strangle any animal that passes through. Previously, the Black Mambas would find "plus or minus 90" traps "per day"; now, due to their constant cleaning and checking of areas, they find only two to five.
The rangers’ dedication stems from a powerful sense of responsibility. They describe themselves as the "voices of the animals". Their job also extends to protecting elephants, whose tusks are highly sought after as amulets, leading poachers to "kill them without mercy". When encountering a carcass, the feeling is one of profound sadness, like "failing to help these animals".
Beyond conservation, the Black Mambas represent a cultural shift in South Africa. Traditionally, women were known as those who "could give birth, take care of the household and take care of the kids". The Black Mambas have "proved to the women out there that even a woman can do this job". The project is about "empowering young women" so they "can stand for themselves", with each woman serving as a leader in her role and in the community.
The youngest ranger shared the deepest meaning of happiness, a question central to the Project Happiness mission: "It's so fulfilling knowing that the job that I'm doing is so efficient and effective... putting our boots on the ground to deter the poachers away from the reserve, it's fulfilling knowing that our wildlife is safe for the future generations to come". Project Happiness dedicated this documentary to Dr. Jane Goodall, a timeless inspiration for the protection of nature.
