How Dots.eco Help us Protect Painted Dogs in Zimbabwe

In conservation, impact is not measured by numbers alone, but by lives saved, communities strengthened, and futures changed. Over the past year, an £8,000 contribution from Dots.eco, delivered through DSWF’s partnership with Painted Dog Conservation (PDC), has helped turn determination into action on the front line of wildlife protection in Zimbabwe.

This support has contributed directly to anti-poaching patrols, community-led conservation and life-changing education for children living alongside one of Africa’s most endangered predators, the painted dog.

What follows are the stories behind the statistics.

On Patrol with Belinda Ncube: Stopping Poachers Before They Strike

In the early hours of a winter morning in the Gwayi Valley, Belinda Ncube, leader of the Vusile anti-poaching team and a former Children’s Bush Camp graduate, sets out on patrol with her unit. This landscape, bordering Hwange National Park, has become increasingly dangerous for wildlife as economic hardship drives illegal snaring for bushmeat.

Painted dogs are particularly vulnerable. Their wide-ranging movements mean that a single snare can wipe out an entire pack.

With DSWF support, bolstered by the Dots.eco contribution, PDC’s anti-poaching teams maintained an intensive presence across this high-risk buffer zone throughout 2025. Rangers conducted more than 2,300 patrols, walking over 31,000 kilometres and removing 3,567 wire snares from the bush.

Belinda’s team was among three units retrained during the year through a specialist ranger programme. The results were immediate. Patrol coverage expanded, intelligence improved, and arrests increased. In total, 15 poachers were apprehended and successfully prosecuted, sending a powerful message that wildlife crime would not be tolerated.

“People now know we are always out there,” Belinda says. “They know the risk is real.”

Image credit Matt Armstrong-Ford

The Umkhonto Pack: A Family Saved from Snaring

The impact of these patrols can be seen most clearly in the survival of the Umkhonto pack, the largest painted dog pack ever recorded in the Main Camp area of Hwange National Park.

With 22 members including pups, the pack’s survival was far from guaranteed. The area they hunt is heavily targeted by poachers and littered with wire snares. Without sustained patrols, their fate could have mirrored that of the Mpindothela pack, whose two adult females, Wendy and Camille, were killed in snares in 2024, leading to the collapse of the entire pack.

Instead, thanks to relentless snare removal and daily monitoring supported by DSWF funding, the Umkhonto pack survived the year intact.

Their continued presence is more than a conservation success. It is proof that when protection is consistent, painted dogs can thrive even in complex, human-dominated landscapes.

Image credit Painted Dog Conservation

Community Rangers Changing the Story in Sianyanga

Conservation cannot succeed without the support of local people. In the community of Sianyanga, bordering Hwange National Park, residents took matters into their own hands.

Inspired by the success of the Mabale Community Anti-Poaching Unit, the Sianyanga Community Anti-Poaching Volunteers began patrolling their land to protect both wildlife and livestock. In 2024 alone, they carried out 226 patrols and removed 128 snares.

The Dots.eco contribution helped support stipends and equipment for community rangers across the region, providing income that directly benefited families while reinforcing pride and ownership over conservation.

One volunteer explained simply, “This land is ours. If we do not protect it, no one else will.”

Their efforts reduced human-wildlife conflict and strengthened trust between PDC and the community. At the end of the year, a successful fundraising campaign allowed a solar-powered borehole to be installed, supporting a nutritional community garden that now feeds volunteers and their families.

This is conservation working hand-in-hand with development.

Wilton Nsimango Children’s Bush Camp: A Legacy That Lives On

For Wilton Nsimango, conservation has always been about people as much as wildlife. After more than 20 years leading PDC’s education work, the Children’s Bush Camp was renamed in his honour in 2024, a tribute to a man who has helped shape the values of an entire generation.

The Wilton Nsimango Children’s Bush Camp hosted 29 camps during the year, 27 of them free of charge, reaching 809 children from 22 local schools. For many, it was their first time seeing wildlife up close, walking in the bush or understanding how ecosystems function.

Pre and post-camp assessments showed a 19% increase in conservation knowledge, but the deeper impact goes beyond numbers.

The following year, some children attending the camp had parents who once sat around the same campfire as pupils themselves. That generational continuity speaks volumes.

Former bush camp graduates are now community leaders, teachers and even anti-poaching scouts like Belinda Ncube. The seeds planted years ago are bearing fruit.

From Donation to Lasting Impact

The threats facing painted dogs in Zimbabwe remain severe. Economic instability, climate change and illegal hunting continue to place pressure on wildlife and communities alike.

Yet, the outcomes of the past year show what is possible when committed partners work together. Thousands of snares removed. Poachers stopped. Communities empowered. Children inspired. Packs like Umkhonto still running free.

The £8,000 contribution from Dots.eco, delivered by DSWF in partnership with Painted Dog Conservation, played a vital role in making these outcomes possible.

On behalf of DSWF and PDC, we extend our sincere thanks to Dots.eco for standing with us on the front line of conservation and helping to secure a future where painted dogs, and the people who live alongside them, can thrive.