Game Ranger- Kings Camp, Timbivati
Jessica Botha
Her journey into photography began at age ten with her dad’s small point‑and‑shoot camera, capturing flowers and birds in the garden. But everything changed the day she photographed a leopard looking straight into her lens – a moment that sparked an adrenaline‑filled obsession with wildlife photography and the art of editing. Over the past 4 years she has developed a vivid, intimate, and bold photographic style – often focusing on close‑up portraits that reveal the raw emotion and detail in an animal’s eyes.
Her path into game ranging was unexpected but life‑changing. What began as a gap year to build her portfolio led her to the andBeyond Inkwazi Ranger Training course – opening a career she never imagined possible. Today, she works in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve at Kings Camp – living a dream she once thought was out of reach. Her fieldwork has included pangolin tag changes and monitoring, multiple Rhino dehorning operations, cheetah treatments as well as lion relocation releases – giving her a front‑row seat to conservation in action.
She believes conservation is about balance – understanding that humans are not separate from nature but part of it. Her photography aims to spark connection, inspire care, and encourage people to look at wildlife with renewed wonder. Whether photographing elusive leopards, navigating low‑light conditions, or holding her breath to steady her camera, she approaches every moment with passion and respect for the animals she protects.
When she’s not in the field she likes to spend her time enjoying life to its fullest; expressing her art in editing and content creation as well as other forms of art, keeping active, exploring the world and spending time with friends and family. Few people know that she once trained in aerial silks and gymnastics for about seven years – a reminder of the creativity and discipline that also shape her work behind the lens.
Her purpose is simple yet powerful: to spread nature’s beauty as far as possible, deepen people’s connection to the wild, and inspire even one person to care enough to make a difference. Through her images, she hopes to leave a legacy of awareness, emotion, and meaningful impact – one photograph, one viewer, one moment at a time.