Protecting Painted Dogs

We are sorry to bring you sad news about the death of Socks. Socks was the alpha of the Nyamandlovu Painted Dog pack. One of six pups born in June 2010, her mother was Vusile, an orphaned dog that was homed for a short while at our Rehabilitation Facility. 

Socks was the most successful alpha female we have known, producing 33 puppies, of which more than half are still alive today. She rests now, where she died, in the centre of the territory she dominated for more than five years. 

When she was killed, her pups were only five weeks old and she was still suckling them. By the time we found her, it was also too late to save the pups. We are not sure how, why or what killed her. It was most likely lions, though there were hyena tracks all around her body. 

Socks was a symbol of success and hope for us - a pack thriving in the area where we do so much of our conservation education work. Fitted with a protective collar that saved her life just weeks ago, the collar bore the marks of a deadly, brutal snare. Our anti-poaching units were deployed time and time again into the forests where she roamed. We protected her with everything we have and all the knowledge we have gained so that she could thrive.

Alpha male Browney, and his phenomenal brother Ring, are left to provide for the nine pups born last year, until a new queen emerges to take Sock's place along-side them. 

Please help us to continue to give them all the support we can! Thank You! 

Links:

• Find out more about our work with Painted Dogs

Education forms a core part of what the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation supports. Park protection and anti-poaching programmes work in tandem with community outreach and education to create an holistic response to the issues facing endangered wildlife and the people who share their landscapes.

In Zimbabwe we have been funding the Children's 'Iganyana' Bush Camp since 2004 and have welcomed over 10,000 students to this amazing residential camp.

The aim is to teach children about conservation concepts, ecological relationships and the value of biodiversity along with an appreciation of painted dogs and the role they play in the ecosystem. It also works to inspire an emotional attachment to the beauty and complexity of nature.

Our funding means that the programme is free to all grade six students (11 year olds) from the 19 primary schools in the Hwange area.The four day programme reaches more than 800 children each year and each of those children, inspired by the amazing experience, invariably returns home as an ambassador for wildlife and for the painted dog.

A follow up session called Kids for Science is now offered to 14 year olds with many of the same children returning following their original Bush Camp visits.

The really exciting part of the programme is that the children who have attended the camps are now coming back to the project to work - as rangers in the anti-poaching units and as guides. In a country where formal education and employment is sometimes hard to come by this great programme is not only providing those key staples to locals but also an enduring and life-long understanding and respect for wildlife and, most importantly, the painted dog.

It costs around £40 (US$53) for one child to attend a four day Bush Camp. So, for as little as £10 ($13) a day you can help change not only a child's life but the future of the painted dog and other wildlife in Zimbabwe that relies on people understanding and appreciating its true value.

Education not only matters but in Zimbabwe, it is helping to make a real difference to wildlife survival.