Wildlife Conservation Zimbabwe Project #25601

Protecting Painted Dogs

by David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

Project Report | Jan 12, 2024
Protecting Painted Dogs - January Update

By Jo B | Senior Fundraising Executive

Masuma Pack - Painted Dog Conservation

Over the past few months, resources have been stretched to their limits – not helped by the ongoing price rises in fuel and supplies due to the cost-of-living crisis. Anti-poaching teams have conducted a minimum of 40 patrols per month across the protected areas within Hwange National Park and its surrounding buffer zones. The patrols look for all signs of poaching activities; snares, spoor, fires, carcasses, vehicle tracks, and gunshots – and are able and equipped to respond immediately to any reported wildlife crimes. Their ongoing presence is deterrence to would-be-poachers, as they know, the chances of being spotted are real.

Unfortunately, the closure of one of the safari camps in the area, left a vacuum, which without camp staff and tourists, was quickly filled by poachers. Sadly, a newly formed pack, named the Kinglsey Pack, decided to den nearby and the death of one male dog by a snare was found quickly after the poachers were identified. Ranger teams and anti-poaching community scouts have been deployed to protect this area to prevent further loss of wildlife and attempt to deter and apprehend the poachers.

Another pack, named the Mpindothella pack, decided to den close to a main road, leaving them at risk of being hit and killed by vehicles in addition to the threat of snaring – which is also rife in that area. Sadly, the alpha female of the pack was found dead shortly after the pack denned, caught in a snare. She left behind three very young and vulnerable pups. It is planned for the pups to be taken to the rehabilitation centre, where they will be cared for until they are old enough to be released back to the wild. Resources were stretched to enable a ranger team to be deployed in a 24/7 operation to protect the pack. Their work included escorting them across the road, slowing traffic down in the process, in addition to the deployment of anti-poaching scouts in areas the pack are hunting in, aiding their protection.

The good news is that there are more newly formed packs than ever before residing in the buffer zone outside Hwange National Park. This growth is a positive sign that the environment is becoming more attractive and sustainable for wildlife once again. Sadly, with the threat of poaching seemingly never ending, our partners have had to step up operations even more and expand their core anti-poaching units across these buffer zones. The introduction of our partners’ first all-female anti-poaching team, named the Vusile Unit and made up of eight women, is headed by Belinda Ncube – a former Bush Camp student. This unit highlights the success of the Bush Camp education programme in inspiring the leaders of tomorrow for long-term wildlife protection. The Bush Camp has continued to run smoothly in the last six months, with 23 successful camps hosting more than 640 children. These are the next generation of our wild guardians and are vital to the long-term conservation of painted dogs.

With resources as stretched as they are and the urgent need for more boots on the ground, the funding provided by David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation is now needed more than ever. Thanks to your donations, we can continue to support the great work happening in Zimbabwe and protect painted dogs for the long-term.

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Velekude Pack - Painted Dog Conservation

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Sep 14, 2023
Protecting Painted Dogs - September Update

By Jo B | Senior Fundraising Executive

Painted Dog - Zimbabwe

We recently celebrated World Painted Dog Day on August 26^th and took this opportunity to highlight the threats faced by painted dogs. Just a century ago, there were over 500,000 painted dogs in Africa. Today, that number is closer to 6,600, representing a 98.7% crash in their numbers – and with only 21% of the population (1,400) being viable, mature individuals.

The pressures of climate change, habitat fragmentation, and human encroachment are depleting both the home range and populations of painted dogs. In addition, mineral resource extraction and the expansion of agriculture across Africa is also resulting in shrinking habitats. This loss of space increases competition for land and resources between wild animals, including painted dogs. Painted dogs are being pushed from every angle into smaller ranges, where they are then targeted for poaching and indiscriminately injured or killed in snares.

For over 20 years, we’ve been funding anti-poaching teams working on the frontline of species protection and community engagement, as well as supporting immersive educational bush camps for children to learn about painted dogs and conservation. Through positive interaction with rural communities and children in Zimbabwe, thanks to ongoing support from DSWF, the painted dog remains a symbol of strength, unity, and perseverance within the area.

We support dedicated anti-poaching units that operate in and around Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Their recent work has been focused on safeguarding a pack of dogs that has moved into a treacherous region, rife with illegal wildlife crime. The determined efforts of the ranger team resulted in over 3,500 snares being removed from the area over the last year.

The work we do has a direct, positive impact in the regions where our supported projects and programmes operate. The Hwange and Sinamatella areas of the national park now boast 95 adult dogs, split across 31 packs, and with ten breeding units recorded – the busy parents of a grand total of 44 pups! With more incoming…

We are currently in the middle of denning season for painted dog packs. Veteran tracker, Jealous Mpofu, alongside a team of dedicated trackers in Mana Pools and Hwange National Parks, have identified recent den sites and are observing fascinating behaviours within the packs. During this period, the alpha female, and sometimes another pack member, tend to stay behind with the pups, safeguarding the den while the rest of the pack ventures out to hunt. Excitingly, our partners have confirmed denning activities of the Velakude, Umkhonto, Mpindothela, and Chowato packs in Hwange National Park, and the Nyamepi pack in Mana Pools. In the coming weeks, the expectation is that pups will emerge, and we look forward to keeping you updated on their progress.

Thank you for your generous support in helping us protect painted dogs.

Snare Wire - Credit Uganda Conservation Foundation

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May 18, 2023
Protecting Painted Dogs - May Update

By Jo B | Senior Fundraising Executive

Painted Dogs - Nicholas Dyer

The overall painted dog population for Zimbabwe is estimated at 600 individuals. In the areas DSWF support, there are 194 adult dogs in 31 packs. Ten breeding groups were recorded in 2022, with a total of 44 pups. It is vital that each pack is protected to ensure the longevity of the painted dog population within Zimbabwe. Snaring continues to be the biggest killer of wildlife and painted dogs within the Hwange National Park and surrounding areas, making working with the communities an essential component of painted dog protection.

Packs can move regularly over large distances, which means monitoring and anti-poaching teams are also regularly on the move, following the packs. The Mpindothella pack recently moved into the Gwai conservancy area, which is over hunted, under managed, and consequently a hot bed of illegal poaching activity – making it a treacherous place for wildlife. The pack also had young pups with them at the time, despite it being highly unusual for a pack to move with young pups. Our monitoring and ranger team initiated an emergency response, and thanks to funding from DSWF, they called in the help of the Mabala Community Anti-Poaching Unit. In a joint operation, involving more than 20 of the Mabale Community Unit and our partners’ own DSWF-supported Anti-Poaching Units, they swept the area for snares, which resulted in the recovery of more than 3,500.

The team quickly established a base camp and continued to monitor the pack daily, while also deploying the combined anti-poaching units to patrol around and ahead of the pack, directed by the research team. These efforts paid off and the pack remain alive and safe. However, even with this level of protection and de-snaring activities, three of the adults were sadly snared multiple times, and it was only because of the close monitoring by our team they survived. This highlights the sheer number of snares within the area and how much risk they pose to the dogs. The team reported that this was an exhausting period both physically and financially but the support from DSWF was critical in making this possible, and that pack survives today because of it.

In 2023, the team’s long-term goals include establishing an anti-poaching team in the Gawi Conservancy. Our partners are currently exploring the establishment of an all-female anti-poaching unit. This unit will be selected from the Mabale Community Anti-Poaching Unit scouts and established in a strategic location within the Gwayi. In addition, our partners are engaging with key stakeholders to take over the management of areas in the Gwayi. These negotiations will hopefully result in the suspension of all hunting activities and significantly increase anti-poaching patrols.

In the Hwange National Park, the team are investigating the reintroduction of certain wildlife species such as giraffe, zebra, and wildebeest that have been decimated by the over hunting and poaching for bush meat. To improve the prospects for the painted dogs, our partners are also reintroducing 200 impala into the area that is already well protected. These will provide a significant and rapidly increasing prey base for the painted dogs, which we expect will improve pack integrity and pup survival, and thus lead to increased pack sizes and ultimately a boost to painted dog populations in Zimbabwe.

Thank you for your generous support in helping us achieve these outcomes for painted dog conservation.

Ranger Anti-poaching patrol - Nicholas Dyer

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