Gone to the dogs: A visit with Painted Dog Conservation

This blog brings us to the last chapter of DSWF’s recent visit to our Field Partners in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Our intrepid team crossed the border at Victoria Falls – aka Mosi-oa-Tunya (the mist that thunders) and headed for the borders of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, to meet up with the dedicated folks at Painted Dog Conservation.

Although similar to the Zambian countryside just a few hours behind, a distinct change in the landscape was noticeable, as the bushy scrub and thickets of forest became thicker and denser. Hills and ridgelines rose in the distance and the wildlife here too was a little different, with both kudu and elephant seen easily from the roadside.

Entering the Kill Zone

On arriving at Painted Dog Conservation’s HQ, we were greeted by the education team who showed us around the centre and facilities, including the incredible painted panels depicting the story of a painted dog’s tragic life story when impacted by human-wildlife conflict that made up each of the walls.
We were then whisked away for a first rendezvous with our target species – painted dogs, aka African hunting dogs, painted wolves, wild dogs and even Iganyana locally. We piled into a pair of rugged Toyota Landcruisers and set off in search of the pack. And as luck would have it, just as the light began to fail, we found them – not long after their kill of a mature kudu. It brilliantly showed how these amazing animals work together and how doing so, they buck the trend of other African carnivores and often achieve a hunt success rate of 80%. We stayed with them until dark and then retreated to our tented camp for one night – fittingly also named Iganyana.

A Morning With the Pups

Luck continued to be on our side, as our second day started with… painted dog puppies! Finding ourselves in the company of the next generation of some of the rarest carnivores in Africa was one of the most special experiences of the trip. Our professional trackers, Jealous and Washington, used their years of experience and on-the-ground knowledge of the pack’s territory, to give the team from DSWF unprecedented views in the early hours of the morning.

We were able to log lots of data, like location, what they were eating, the adults and sub-adults that stayed with the pups, and interactions with other wildlife (we heard but didn’t see elephants chasing them off the day before). But mainly, we just enjoyed this incredible experience and took absolute delight in watching them play and interact.

One of the incredible things learnt was, the pups are born black and white, with the yellow and brown markings developing later. But whereas the other colour markings change, the white doesn’t – and these are the patterns used to identify individuals throughout their life, just like fingerprints.

Painted dogs are one of the rarest mammals on the planet. There could be as few as 5,500 left – and only 1,600 of those are adult animals. They often fall victims to the indiscriminate snares of poachers, as well as wider human-wildlife conflict.

But, nothing spurs hope like the innocence of the next generation, and watching these young ones practice working together, stalking, and playing was enough to give us hope for their future – especially with your ongoing support.

The Art of Anti-Poaching

The following day put a focus on the operations side, including the dedicated anti-poaching unit and education programme (we’ll have a dedicated education-focused update covering the whole trip very soon).

The DSWF team had a very paw-sitive experience visiting PDC’s anti-poaching K9 facility. After observing the impressive tracking skills of the dogs as they traced the scent of a single bullet casing over distance, the team experienced exactly what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a dedicated service dog as a poacher. Yet it didn’t stop them being completely enamoured with Natasha (the dog) and only heightened the respect they had for the dangers the unit faced – including armed gangs and poachers with their own packs of dogs. Only their incredible discipline and training gives them the edge in the field, where they are often outgunned and outnumbered. It is truly dangerous work.

Next door to the anti-poaching facility is the Arts Centre, where artisans in the community are engaged in meaningful employment creating decorative jewellery and ornaments, which are sold internationally – both raising funds for PDC’s operations and providing stable and ethical income for those involved.

An Educational Impact

A key part of the time spent with PDC was seeing the wonderful Bush Camp and the work of the Education Team. One of the incredible things about the children’s camps is that they have become a legacy in themselves. They have now been established so long and firmly with the communities, that former attendees are now bringing their children to the camp, making it a generation-to-generation experience. And as the team found out, more former attendees now work directly with PDC in the Bush Camp kitchen and representing one of the anti-poaching team’s female rangers.

On our last evening, we were invited to attend a play put on by the children of the Bush Camp that told of the pressures on local communities and the temptation that setting illegal snares presented, but also told from the point of view of a pack of painted dogs. Performed in English just for us and put together in just two short days, it wove a heavy hitting story of how people and animals alike are impacted by poaching.

To have children that visited the Bush Camp to have grown up not only advocating the work funded by DSWF but also putting their life on the line as rangers, is testament to what can be achieved through the decades of partnership and long-term support that DSWF provides. This is the reason we do what we do and what is so unique about the way we work. Our impact can be measured in decades as can our friendships and influence through our Field Partners.

Our Ongoing Commitment Made Possible by You

And of course, all of this is made possible through the ongoing support of people like you. Please help us continue to make a difference for wildlife, communities, and those on the frontline in the fight against wildlife crime.

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