Notes from the Field: Denning and Inbreeding

Clara earlier in the year

The tale of the Mpindothela has taken a better twist this time around. Clara, the pack's alpha female, now has pups, and the pack is denning. The Mpindothela pack is a merger of the four males from the Mathathela pack, which used to roam near our headquarters in Dete and the four remaining females of the notorious Mpindo pack. The pack formed when we released the Mpindo females to join the waiting males outside our Rehabilitation facility last year. 

Looking back, since the pack was formed, the Mpindothela lost its alpha male Khule to a lion attack and a promising female MaDube to a road accident. Their future looked bleak following these incidents. The pack regrouped well, and now with pups comes new hope for the pack and the painted dog population in Hwange.

Pregnant Clara feeding with her pack

In Mana Pools, Boas, the son of Taku and Tafara (born 2020) of the Rucomecci pack, has joined the Nyamepi pack with a male we believe to be his brother, Dickson. In the video below shot by our researchers in Mana Pools, Boas and alpha female Whisky are mating.

Boas and Whisky Mating

While, on the one hand, it's good to see "new" males join the Nyamepi pack after the disappearance of alpha male Gamma in early May and the other four males, it is still a concern because Taku and Whisky, are sisters. So Boas is a close relative, indeed nephew of Whisky.

This continues a worrying trend in Mana pools of an apparent lack of "new blood" migrating into the area.

Boas and Whisky

Painted Dog Conservation partners Wild and Free Foundation

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) and Wild and Free Foundation (WFF) have partnered to support conservation through sport, sponsoring the Iganyana Football League. Wild and Free Foundation (WFF) is a non-profit organization based in the United States and South Africa with a mission to empower youth and communities living around the national parks and wildlife reserves in Africa through sport and economic opportunities to reduce their dependence on poaching.

For over 15 years now, PDC has been sponsoring the local football league - Iganyana Football League – to reach out to the youth about conservation, keeping them engaged and away from illegal activities in the wilderness, e.g. poaching. Over the years, the league yielded significant results in reporting poaching activities, reporting painted dog sightings and supporting community-based initiatives such as clean-up campaigns and borehole repairs.

The PDC WFF partnership couldn't have come at any better time than now. To reflect this partnership, the league will now assume a new name, 'Rhino Cup Champions League Zimbabwe – Iganyana Division' to reflect this partnership.

Rhino Cup Champions League (RCCL) is the brainchild of WFF. WFF successfully implemented the Rhino Cup Champions League in Mozambique in 2017 with positive results such as reduced rhino poaching. Boredom, idleness, and poverty are some of the contributing factors to becoming a poacher. RCCL Zimbabwe addresses these factors by supporting and sponsoring the sports communities love - football - helping save wildlife and people.

Soccer Kit and Equipment Handover Ceremony

Under this new partnership, we distributed WFF Germany-sourced soccer kits and equipment on the 2nd of July 2022 to all 20 community-based teams in the league. The local chief, Chief Dingani-Nelukoba, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the PDC Board of Trustees, Col K Mhlophe from the national football governing board Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), Zimbabwe women's national team coach Sithetheliwe' Kwinji 15' Sibanda, WFF's Kathrin Ehrke, community leaders and team representatives among others graced the event.

Each team received at least two soccer kits, including boots, socks, balls, cooler boxes, nets, cones, and bibs.

PDC and WFF's common goal is to empower and uplift young people and to help them get on a positive life path instead of the destructive path of poaching or any other types of illegal activities while engaging with people, uplifting communities and protecting wildlife. We are creating an environment where endangered species like painted dogs and other wildlife can thrive.

The RCCL Zimbabwe - Iganyana Division supports 20 male and four female community-based teams from communities adjacent to Hwange National Park, directly impacting wildlife and people welfare in the area.

To support conservation through sport, kindly send us a direct email or donate to the button below.

Giving poaching the red card!

Conservation through Action and Education!

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!

#EndangeredSpeciesDay

Today is #EndangeredSpeciesDay, an opportunity for people of all ages to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species and everyday actions they can take to help protect them.

Painted dogs are one of the most endangered species in the whole of Africa. They are native to Africa and are not found in the wild anywhere else on the planet. Fewer than 7,000 painted dogs are left across the entire continent. There are roughly 700 painted dogs in Zimbabwe, and we work with local populations of both humans and dogs—via conservation, education, and outreach programs—to help them not only survive here, but thrive.

To learn more and get updates about painted dogs, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To support our work, you can donate via our Wildlife Conservation Network partner:
https://donate.wildnet.org/…
OR
Support our #SponsorAChild #SaveThePaintedDog campaign for the Iganyana Children's Bush Camp here:
https://www.bonfire.com/pdc-bush-camp-15th-anniversary/

📷@Nick Dyer