Heart of a Game Ranger

Stories from a Wild Life

By: Mario Cesare

Narrated by: Peter Noble

Predictability isn’t a word you will find in any Bushveld dictionary, and the life of wildlife guardian Mario Cesare has been anything but. After years as warden of Olifants River Game Reserve, his feet are firmly planted in this magnificent slice of Big Five country to the west of the Kruger Park, where he has experienced a rich life packed full of incidents far from routine.

In Heart of a Game Ranger, Cesare recounts some of these hair-raising, heartbreaking and heartwarming moments: a buffalo calf reunited with its pining mother, injured lions given second chances and rhinos lost, one by one, to poaching.

Nestled among these tales, Cesare pays homage to the brave, dedicated and curious personalities engaged in a deadly combat on the most majestic of battlefields. Yet, while rhino poaching is by far the reserve’s biggest problem, Cesare reveals how the daily struggles of a game ranger are so much broader - and the rewards, when they come, immense.

Heart of a Game Ranger is a story of extremes, one of fierce loyalty and devastating betrayal where spectacular days that end in exhausted satisfaction and achievement are balanced by those that leave behind only despair and frustration.

Seen through his eyes and spoken from the heart, Cesare tells a deeply personal story - not only of a life lived wild but of the joy of Africa’s incredible natural world.

©2017 Mario Cesare (P)2019 Audible, Ltd

Enlightening

A very good book filled with great stories and some very sad and tragic ones as well. But a eye opening book. And how important it is that we need to protect our beautiful animals from Lions to Rhinos and elephants that we take for granted.

Amazing book

A must read. Mario Kia an amazing author and manages to write to keep his listeners captivated. The last few chapters are the best, really enjoyed the black mambas and Saba stories

The game ranger's dream seems lost

I liked the book. Good contrast to gamd ranger remembers. Poor pronunciation in the narration

Very good - I live in the bush

enjoyed the story . I can relate to the stories told. as a safari guide

wow what a suspense filled book

loved every word of every story. spent many moments on the edge of seat so to say.