British Army Medics going beyond their duty
“We were set up under our mozzy nets under the stars ready for a normal night during operations in the park. Our job is to support all the counter-poaching operators to make sure that they are safe and close to medical help. So, when this happened we immediately had to switch focus and prepare ourselves for a different task.”
On the evening of 5th October, Cpl Sam Jones and Cpl Brandon Wright stepped outside their usual call of duty — providing medical cover for counter-poaching operators— to respond to a 5-month pregnant local woman.
The local woman, believed to be in her 30’s and 5-months pregnant, was cycling along a path in Liwonde National Park when she had an unfortunate encounter with an elephant. This encounter resulted in serious injuries to her abdomen. She was in a critical state with severe wounds with internal bleeding.
“We were extremely concerned about losing the baby due to the location of the injures. Due to the blood loss and low blood pressure there was a concern that the blood pressure wasn’t high enough to supply oxygen to the baby. Stopping the bleeding and raising the blood pressure was essential to survival for mother and baby.”
The woman was rushed to Mangochi hospital, where the two British Army Medics accompanied her after they were alerted to the situation by African Parks.
Cpl Jones and Cpl Wright immediately began assisting.
“There are limited facilities at the hospital so we knew that what we could offer might make some difference as there was no surgical option nearby.”
They gave IV fluids to stabilize her blood pressure. Once stabilized, the woman was later moved to Zomba hospital, where she underwent surgery.
With the vital help from both Cpl Jones and Cpl Wright, both the woman and her child both survived.
African Parks have paid for the operation which took place at Zomba hospital and will continue to pay all of her medical bills whilst she recovers.
“We were originally taken aback when we heard it was an elephant attack and again when we discovered she was pregnant, but then we switched to professional mode and got on with providing the treatment she required.”
The British Army has been deployed in Africa since 2017 to train park rangers as combat tracking instructors, which will help neutralise the threat of poaching, bring those responsible to justice and ultimately put an end to wildlife crime.
- Ending Wildlife Crime: British Army in Africa
- Poaching Patrol — On Foot In The Malawian Bush With The British Army
- Preventing poaching: British Army in Africa
The illegal wildlife trade is worth up to billions a year globally. It is a highly organised criminal industry that is responsible for pushing species, such as elephants, rhinos, tigers and pangolins, towards extinction.
