PDC Annual Report 2023

2023 was a year when we really saw the impact of the work we have undertaken during the past 25+ years. For the first time ever we have seen three if not five packs of painted dogs utilising the buffer zone in our core operating area. Three packs denned in the area and we deployed the full extent of our resources to try and protect them, which was successful on the whole but not without tragedy.

In Partnership with the Community

Mabale Community Anti-Poaching Unit Volunteers

No matter how much progress we make with the dogs, it’s no use if we work in isolation from the surrounding communities. In 2020 and in 2021 we had a mutually beneficial and successful operation in collaboration with the Mabale Community Anti-Poaching Unit  (MCAPU) This year, we have again got funding to engage the MCAPU for another six months. Keeping our foot on the pedal, so to speak, by having and maintaining a solid presence on the ground.

In 2020, we saw an escalation of poaching activities in the areas bordering Hwange National Park due to hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We formally engaged the 45-strong MCAPU, mainly women, whose children benefit most from our Children’s Bush Camp. We deployed the MCAPU  in areas outside their community to assist our 16-strong professional Anti Poaching Unit. We gave them a daily stipend for these patrols to support their families. This collaboration resulted in a record +5000 snares being recovered in three months, more than double the average number of snares collected annually.

In 2021, thanks to your generous support, we again engaged the MCAPU for six months. We managed to maintain a presence and pressure in the field, which reduced poaching activity. As a result, only 2000 snares were collected. The MCAPU's life-saving work provided a blanket of protection for all wildlife in the area. The stipend they received significantly boosted the local economy at a time when opportunities were scarce from the impacts of lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is worth noting that many communities in our core operating area are replicating the efforts of the Mabale Community and making their villages safe for livestock and wildlife. These communities living on the edge of Hwange National Park are prone to human-wildlife conflict incidents. Sianyanga community is the latest to show interest and set up a voluntary community anti-poaching unit.

PDC Anti-Poaching Unit Manager Enock Zulu Addresses Community Volunteers

We haven’t been spared from the escalating costs of operations due to fuel price increases. A huge financial backing is needed to do the work we do. We were very pleased and grateful to receive 296 food ration for our Anti-Poaching scouts from the French Embassy in Zimbabwe. The work at hand is still daunting, we continue to call for increased support for us to continue with this critical and life-saving work not only for us but for the generation to come.

Thank You Dominic, Farewell

Dominic ‘DJ’ Nyathi has left Painted Dog Conservation. He has been chosen by Wilderness Safaris to head up their Children In The Wilderness (CITW) programme, which is actually modelled on our Conservation Clubs that DJ established.

He served with us for 11 years and immensely contributed to our education and community programs over the years. For that, we are really grateful. While his leaving us is a loss, it’s a great opportunity for him and well deserved.

We know he will continue to represent PDC in the best possible way and we wish him all the best of luck in his new role.

Thank you Dominic!

Good news from Sichelesile Ndlovu, the first female Assistant Tracker we have had.

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Here is her account of how she, and Jealous, found the Destiny pack after weeks of searching and amid fears of rabies spreading:

When you begin to confuse the tweets of birds to a beep signal from the head phones and when you halt the car for almost every animal track you see on the road then you know you haven’t really been seeing dogs for a long time. It had been nearly 2 weeks without any sightings of the Destiny pack which is being monitored for rabies as its home range was overlapping with the Mabuyamabhema Pack, which got wiped out by the disease last month.

Undeterred by setbacks of past days, we began our tracking with so much enthusiasm that we were going to see the dogs. Jealous was behind the wheel and I was wearing the headphones attentively listening to every sound that comes out of them. A few kilometres into the Hwange National Park, just by the Nyamandlovu turnoff Jealous had a glimpse of some spoors, he stopped the vehicle, we had a look around and YES there were dog spoors but their direction was  opposite  to where our vehicle was heading.  We followed the track of the spoors but a few meters from the turnoff we lost the them. Jealous made a U-turn and moved towards Nyamandlovu pan loop road, he spotted dog spoors again. As we climbed off the  Landrover, before us stood a jackal and on our right hand side there was a hyena standing still and you could see it sniffing. Just as I suspected but not confindent enough to mention before my senior does, Jealous said the dogs must have killed something around the area. Now with these clues, worryingly enough there was still no beep on my head phones. After taking a few pics of the hyena we proceeded. Am sure Jealous drove about 100m and I burst out saying STOP, he turned and looked at me and said ‘signal’ I just nodded with a smile and he took over. We have found the Destiny pack! He manoeuvred off road with the directional antenna on his hand and about 500m from the Main Camp’s Sinamatela road all the seven dogs were lying with noticeable very full bellies. They all looked healthy and strong. Careful not to disturb their peace, we took a few pictures and left them to rest.

And to conclude the morning we were blessed with rains after really hot dry days.