Painted Dog Conservation. Painted Dog Conservation. PDC Project Update. Oct Nov 2012 November PDC Project Update

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1 Painted Dog Conservation Painted Dog Conservation Conservation through Action and Education Conservation through Action and Education Oct Nov 202 November 20 This Issue Story One: Painted Dog s move from Zimbabwe to Mozambique. Story Two: Late denning in Gonarezhou: Story Three: Kids For Science: Story Four: Teach Your Children Well: Story Five: Painted Dog s in Peril Contact Us Painted Dog Conservation PO Box 72 Dete, Zimbabwe Tel: info@painteddog.org Donate Make an online donation through the website of the Wildlife Conservation Network. Specifying "Painted Dog" in your online donation will ensure that 00% of the donation comes to PDC. WCN is a non-profit 50(c)3 - # Visit the PDC website to learn where you can mail a cheque. PDC Project Update By Peter Blinston PDC Project Update Painted Dog s move from Zimbabwe to Mozambique. Cochise was born into the Vundu pack of Mana Pools in June 20. He was one of a litter of nine. At the time he didn t particularly stand out from the rest of the pack, but today we have evidence of his extraordinary capabilities. On September 30th he was close to the Zambezi River on the Eastern edge of Mana Pools in Zimbabwe. On November 26th he had travelled more than 50 km and is now in the Tchuma Tchato area of North West Mozambique and who knows how much further he will go! Cochise is young to be doing this at only 8 months old; we would normally expect to see such long distance dispersal from dogs of three years old. He is not alone though. Sightings of the Vundu pack have confirmed that another five dogs are missing and at this stage we are assuming they are with Cochise. The Vundu pack is still 20+ strong, so perhaps it was pressure for space and availability of food that motivated these six to move on. We will learn more as the story unfolds and we can identify whom he is with. The map below shows his journey so far. The data comes from the satellite collar that Greg fitted onto him in September. There is no way of knowing which dogs will disperse, though Greg has a knack for selecting them. We are still working through the photos to identify the other five dogs.

2 Painted Dog Conservation Project Update Oct Nov 202 As many of you know, we collaborated with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and translocated seven dogs into Gonarezhou National Park (GNP) at the beginning of the year. The two females, Gaia and Aurora, did not fare so well and after Gaia was killed we recaptured Aurora. The remaining five members of the Ukusutha pack stayed in GNP and Dr. Rosemary Groom of the Lowveld Wild Dog Project has kept us up to date on their progress. The female, Chipo, soon disappeared and Rosemary recently discovered her carcass. The cause of death could not be determined, although the carcass was found near a poacher s camp so we cannot say for sure that it was a natural event. Late denning in Gonarezhou: Alpha female Bekezela, alpha male Dutchie and his brothers Nyeza and Nhlanhla, stayed in the area and had pups. Only two pups were seen but recent reports suggest that they are dead. However, we believe Bekezela has had more pups who are now estimated to be three or four weeks old. It is unusual for the dogs to have two litters in one year, so we will remain eager for information on their progress as the weeks go by. Kids For Science: We re delighted to announce that in November we welcomed the first children into our new Kids For Science (KFS) Programme. This programme targets the best and brightest kids from our annual Children s Bush Camp Programme. They return at the end of the year for a special KFS camp that engages them in deeper conservation training and field research techniques. It s hard to say who enjoy it more, the guides and staff or the kids themselves. The kids are so full of enthusiasm and questions. It s a lot of fun but with serious science components. They get to spend time with Jealous learning how to track and identify the dogs as well as being introduced to bats and toads, again learning how to identify different species. It was an honour to welcome Guy Oliver and his daughter, Lea, for this first camp as the principal sponsors of the programme. Guy has more than 30 years experience with Marine Mammals and the kids were astonished to be introduced to species such as blue whales and elephant seals. 2

3 Painted Dog Conservation Project Update Oct - Nov 202 The noise was almost deafening when they saw this photo of Jealous with an elephant seal!!! Teach Your Children Well: Tendai Nyathi is a twelve-year-old girl who lives in the rural African village of Gundwane. Gundwane village is located in the Matabeleland North district of Zimbabwe and sits on the border of Hwange National Park. The Gundwane primary school that Tendai attends is one of the 7 primary schools that are the focus of the Iganyana Children s Bush Camp. Iganyana Children s Bush Camp is a flagship programme for the Painted Dog Conservation Organisation (PDC). The 7-targeted primary schools enjoy a free-of-charge, four-day residential programme, which aims to not merely teach new concepts about wildlife and the environment, but to promote an emotional attachment that will lead to a lifelong attitude of caring for wildlife and the environment. Tendai is an orphan. She has no brothers or sisters, so she lives alone with and cares for her grandmother now as her grandfather died last year. Life is tough for such a child in rural Africa but Tendai is an eternally bright young child with a devastatingly big smile never far from her warm face. She seems to be untroubled by what many of us would consider to be harsh burdens in life. She heard about the Iganyana Children s Bush Camp from her older school friends who attended the Bush Camp and regaled her with wonderful tales of three hot meals a day, electric lights, water that runs from a tap and stairs that take you as high as the tree tops. She started to count the days until her time would come for attending the Bush Camp. Despite the task of looking after her grandmother, she kept up her attendance at school so that nothing could possibly prevent her from being able to attend the Bush Camp when the time came. The day finally arrived and Tendai could hardly contain herself. The PDC Bush Camp vehicle arrived as promised to collect her and her 33 classmates plus their teacher. She took a moment to pinch her self and reflect on when someone had kept a promise before. She couldn t remember if it had ever happened. With her big smile in place she climbed into the vehicle, which was painted in the 3

4 Painted Dog Conservation Project Update Oct - Nov 202 black, white and brown colours of a painted dog. During the relatively short drive to the Bush Camp she saw three giraffe at the side of the road and squealed with delight, along with the rest of her friends. Her best friend, Nomusa, was the only one who really knew they were actually giraffe as her uncle, Shadrack, worked as a guide at a near by safari lodge. For the rest of the class it was the first time to see such an animal. Her four days at Iganyana Children s Bush Camp flew by in a flurry of activities, games and endless laughter. It was everything she had hoped it would be. Unlike her older friends though it was not the three hot meals, electric lights, water that runs from a tap and stairs that take you as high as the tree tops that she remembered most. Tendai had been given the role of the painted dog, Eyespot, in the play that selected children performed for the rest of the class. The play, called Teach Your Children Well, tells a story drawing parallels between the lives of painted dog pups whose father is killed in a snare and that of orphan children. She could relate to it well. The game she enjoyed most was called the connectivity game, which illustrated and made all the participants state what they could do, to protect painted dogs. Eyespot s father had died in a snare and Tendai promised that she would stop poaching in her village. She was sad to leave the Bush Camp, yet excited to be going home to her grandmother, so she could tell her long, exciting stories about the past four days. Her grandmother prepared a meal of sadza and green vegetables, while Tendai provided a day-by-day, minute-by-minute recollection of all she had done and experienced. In the morning Tendai walked to the house of her best friend, Nomusa, and together they set off into the nearby forests. As they walked they talked excitedly about all they had experienced at the Bush Camp and looked at the trees in a new way, as they now understood that a tree was not just firewood. Their excited chatter was cut short when they heard an unfamiliar sound. They stood, as if frozen to the spot and listened to the sound of a young male kudu struggling for its life in a snare. They walked forward cautiously until they could actually see it. Tendai cried out in horror and started to run for home, not in fear but in a desperate attempt to get help. Nomusa was not so sure. She was afraid that the poacher who had set the snares would be angry that they were meddling and the people in the village always needed meat. Tendai shouted at her friend, asking her if she had learnt anything from the Bush Camp? Did she not understand that a painted dog could as easily be caught and killed in such a snare and no one eats painted dogs? Did she not understand that painted dogs need kudus to eat so they can feed their pups and there was plenty of meat in the butchery? It was hard for Nomusa to argue back and she ran even quicker than Tendai. Her Uncle Shadrack was at his home and they rushed into his yard shouting excitedly at the same time. Shadrack asked them to calm down for he himself was a calm gentle person. They told him of what they had seen and urged him to help. At first he was reluctant to interfere. Like Nomusa, he was afraid of what the poacher would say but Tendai was very persuasive. Shadrack had very little choice and with the two girls at his heels and his axe in his hand he strode out quickly to the village head s kraal. The village head was also a kind old man who had toiled long and hard in his fields. It had been many weeks since he had tasted meat. Tendai was relentless. 4

5 Painted Dog Conservation Project Update Oct - Nov 202 The village head called his two sons and together all six of them strode out, with Tendai leading the way, her stick thin legs coated in dust, her bare feet dancing nimbly across the sandy soil. They soon arrived at the scene and approached the kudu slowly. It stood exhausted from its struggles but seemed unharmed. Shadrack and the sons of the village head grabbed the kudu by its small horns while the village head himself cut the wire snare to set the kudu free. The kudu ran a short distance and then stopped to look around before finally running away to disappear in the forests. Tendai wore her biggest smile. With the adults help she searched the forest and found 5 snares. The village head and Shadrack talked quietly as they crouched low to the ground studying a set of footprints. They recognised the footprints and with Tendai pleading with them to act they did just that, arresting the poacher in the evening and turning him in at the police station. Tendai had kept her promise to the painted dogs to stop poaching in her village. Painted Dog s In Peril: We sent out an appeal for funding in September and the response was both heart warming and humbling. So many of you stepped forward to help in our hour of need ensuring that programmes such as the Children s Bush Camp continued through to the end of the year without a hitch. The year is coming to an end and because of your generosity we are in a good position to carry forward into 203. As ever, we cannot thank you enough. 4