Malawi’s ‘Real Crocodile Hunter’ emerges as a quiet giant of forestry conservation

* Mpatamanga Wildlife Ranch along the Shire River in Neno District safeguards over half a million indigenous trees across two decades

* The forest contains numerous protected and threatened indigenous tree species, including African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon), mukwa (Pterocarpus angolensis), and other species of high ecological, medicinal, and cultural value

Maravi Express

While widely known for confronting some of Malawi’s most dangerous crocodiles, Ian Bartlett — popularly known as ‘The Real Crocodile Hunter’ — has, over the past two decades, quietly presided over one of the country’s most significant privately managed conservation successes; the Mpatamanga Wildlife Ranch.

An independent forest inventory conducted by the Forestry Research Institute of Malawi (FRIM) confirms that Mpatamanga Wildlife Ranch, under Bartlett’s long-term stewardship, protects more than 519,000 indigenous trees across approximately 238 hectares of woodland along the Shire River in Neno District.

The assessment describes a healthy and resilient Miombo woodland ecosystem, which has recovered from historical charcoal burning and illegal logging due to consistent protection and disciplined land management over more than 20 years.

The forest contains numerous protected and threatened indigenous tree species, including African Blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon), Mukwa (Pterocarpus angolensis), and other species of high ecological, medicinal, and cultural value. Several trees identified are widely used in traditional medicine, highlighting the forest’s importance beyond biodiversity alone.

In recognition of the need to protect both habitat and wildlife, Bartlett was also granted a formal Wildlife Ranching Permit by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). The permit authorises the protection and management of wildlife on Mpatamanga Wildlife Ranch, with a specific focus on preventing poaching and illegal exploitation of animals within the property.

Separately from his conservation work, Bartlett is also the author of ‘Memoirs of a Real Crocodile Hunter’, a personal account of professional problem-animal control operations in Malawi. The book is available worldwide and has been gaining growing international recognition for its rare firsthand perspective.

“This forest survived because it was protected year after year,” Bartlett says. “Conservation is not always about grand announcements — sometimes it’s simply about refusing to give up ground.”

The FRIM findings further confirm that the forest contributes significantly to carbon storage, watershed protection, and wildlife connectivity along the Shire River.

A case for national recognition

Environmental observers note that Mpatamanga Wildlife Ranch stands among Malawi’s most successful long-term private conservation initiatives, achieved without sustained donor funding or NGO administration.

At a time when deforestation and wildlife poaching remain pressing national concerns, Bartlett’s two-decade record of verifiable forest conservation and licensed wildlife protection has prompted growing calls for formal national recognition, including consideration for a Malawi National Conservation Award.

From crocodile-infested rivers to protected forests and wildlife sanctuaries, Mpatamanga demonstrates that lasting conservation is built not on slogans, but on vigilance, resolve, and time.