 Many people are quick to criticise Zimbabwe, however, this exercise alone shows the level of commitment towards conservation which exists within the country and with many of its officials. The dogs have settled in well and will be held in the rehabilitation facility for two or three months to acclimatise before being released into the wilds of Hwange National Park. While in Zimbabwe there was other Painted Dog Conservation Inc work for us to do. We undertook pack formations of existing un-related dogs already held in the rehabilitation facility for later release and tracked resident packs in Hwange National Park. We continued community development work by visiting communal area schools and joining in activities with visiting schools to our Bush Camp Facility. We also carried out maintenance work on the rehabilitation facility itself. This large enclosure is over 30 hectares in size—or almost twice the size of Perth Zoo— without including the intensive care clinic and rehabilitation enclosure, so we were kept more than busy. Perth Zoo supports the non-profit organisation Painted Dog Conservation Inc (PDC Inc) in its work with wild populations of Painted Dogs. PDC Inc aims to conserve and increase painteddog numbers in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa. There are believed to be fewer than 2,500 Painted Dogs left in the wild. Their decline is due to habitat loss, road kill, snaring, persecution and domestic dog diseases. PDC Inc has established anti-poaching teams and local education programs in Africa which have seen a significant reduction in the number of snared Painted Dogs. African Painted Dogs still need your support. If you would like to help protect them in the wild, consider becoming a member of PDC Inc and visit their website at http://www.painteddogconservation.iinet.net.au/. This story featured in ‘Spring 2006 edition of News Paws, Perth Zoo’s Official Magazine’ Labels: African Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, Wild Dog |
