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Painted Dog Conservation

About | Solutions | Impact | Donate | Stories

Painted dogs used to range across Africa.

There were once 500,000 dogs in 39 countries, but now only 7,000 dogs are thought to remain, with about 700 left in Zimbabwe where Painted Dog Conservation operates.
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Zimbabwe is one of the last strongholds for painted dogs.

Painted dogs are incredibly social creatures. Also known as African wild dogs, they live in carefully organized packs in which each dog has a specified job, from hunter to pup babysitter. The dogs rely on each other and are one of the only wild species to care for their sick and old.

Painted dogs used to range across Africa, with 500,000 dogs in 39 countries. Impacted by poaching, road kills, and mining and logging that destroy habitat, now only 7,000 dogs are thought to remain. Zimbabwe, where Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) is headquartered, is one of the last strongholds.

Socio economic challenges in Zimbabwe and poor land management practices create a situation for illegal hunting practices (poaching) to flourish. Poachers set wire snares to catch antelope for the bushmeat trade, and painted dogs are accidentally killed in these deadly traps. So, In addition to working on direct threats like snaring, Painted Dog Conservation works closely with local people to provide income from other sources and to develop in local people an appreciation for the dogs and the value of conservation.

Spread the Word! Connect with Painted Dog Conservation on Social Media.

 

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Watch Extra Footage from BBC's Dynasties

While filming Dynasties:Painted Wolf, BBC film crews capture the process of darting and collaring painted dogs. Learn more about the research used to track painted dogs and hear Peter Blinston explain how PDC uses this information to protect the species.
Painted Dog Conservation (Peter Blinston)
The sole purpose of our existence is to create an environment where the dogs can thrive.
Peter Blinston

Peter Blinston, Managing Director

Peter Blinston fell in love with African wild dogs while watching documentaries in his native England. He volunteered for Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) from home in England for two years and then initially moved to Zimbabwe as an unpaid six-month volunteer. He has now been there for twelve years and serves as Managing Director. Peter has helped translate the initial vision for PDC into effective programs.

Conservation Solutions

Icon Tackling Wildlife Crime
Icon Scientific Research
Icon Expanding Education
Icon Empowering Women
Icon Boosting Local Economies
Icon Guiding Policy
Icon Promoting Health
Icon Honoring Culture

Anti-Poaching Units

PDC’s anti-poaching units have been on patrol since 2001 and have collected over 35,000 snares, saving the lives of thousands of animals. They also continue to work closely with the Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority and local law enforcement to run patrols and monitor illegal activity in accordance with the law.

Pack Monitoring

PDC monitors painted dogs using radio collars to track their behavior, identify any causes of injury or death, and keep a close eye on vulnerable packs. They also take samples of blood, feces, and tissue for DNA analysis and to screen for infectious diseases or parasites, and use the results to develop future management plans. This data is compiled into a digital identity register for all painted dogs to better manage conservation efforts.

Children's Bush Camps

Every year, PDC hosts students at their Iganyana Children’s Bush Camp, where kids get to see painted dogs up close and personal. PDC also visits school children and adults to discuss challenges related to water conservation, environmental degradation, and farming practices. PDC is immensely proud of their education programs, directly helping local children, communities, and painted dogs peacefully coexist. 

Women's Groups

Gender equality and female empowerment is important to PDC. They work to support, develop, and promote local women’s groups based around sustainable natural resource use and management, and offer ways to empower women through garden projects and income derived from sales.

Anti-Poaching Scouts

Zimbabwe’s economy has been struggling and this has increased illegal hunting of wildlife to sell for profit. To combat this, PDC employs scouts, both male and female, in their Anti-Poaching Unit, acting as one of the largest employers in their local community. These highly trained scouts help patrol areas bordering Hwange National Park on a daily basis, earning an income to protect wildlife.

Sentences for Poaching

PDC partners with advocacy organizations, like Speak Out for Animals, to improve legislation related to wildlife crime, increase the level of legal protection against the killing of painted dogs, and provide legal awareness workshops for Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers.

Rehab Facility & Vaccines

PDC’s Rehabilitation Facility hosts a veterinary clinic to allow PDC to house and care for injured, sick, or orphaned painted dogs with minimal handling until they recover enough to rejoin their families in the wild. Using the Rehabilitation Facility, PDC keeps painted dog numbers up, ensures the safety of threatened packs, and educates the public to improve the perception of the painted dogs.

Iganyana Art Centre

PDC’s Iganyana Art Centre houses crafts, materials, equipment, training, and facilities for youth and adult art projects. The primary goal of the center is to bring financial benefit to local artists, but also to encourage conservation through the sustainable use of natural resources in product design, with artists even transforming snare wire traps into sculptures.

Icon Tackling Wildlife Crime

Anti-Poaching Units

PDC’s anti-poaching units have been on patrol since 2001 and have collected over 35,000 snares, saving the lives of thousands of animals. They also continue to work closely with the Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority and local law enforcement to run patrols and monitor illegal activity in accordance with the law.

Icon Scientific Research

Pack Monitoring

PDC monitors painted dogs using radio collars to track their behavior, identify any causes of injury or death, and keep a close eye on vulnerable packs. They also take samples of blood, feces, and tissue for DNA analysis and to screen for infectious diseases or parasites, and use the results to develop future management plans. This data is compiled into a digital identity register for all painted dogs to better manage conservation efforts.

Icon Expanding Education

Children's Bush Camps

Every year, PDC hosts students at their Iganyana Children’s Bush Camp, where kids get to see painted dogs up close and personal. PDC also visits school children and adults to discuss challenges related to water conservation, environmental degradation, and farming practices. PDC is immensely proud of their education programs, directly helping local children, communities, and painted dogs peacefully coexist. 

Icon Empowering Women

Women's Groups

Gender equality and female empowerment is important to PDC. They work to support, develop, and promote local women’s groups based around sustainable natural resource use and management, and offer ways to empower women through garden projects and income derived from sales.

Icon Boosting Local Economies

Anti-Poaching Scouts

Zimbabwe’s economy has been struggling and this has increased illegal hunting of wildlife to sell for profit. To combat this, PDC employs scouts, both male and female, in their Anti-Poaching Unit, acting as one of the largest employers in their local community. These highly trained scouts help patrol areas bordering Hwange National Park on a daily basis, earning an income to protect wildlife.

Icon Guiding Policy

Sentences for Poaching

PDC partners with advocacy organizations, like Speak Out for Animals, to improve legislation related to wildlife crime, increase the level of legal protection against the killing of painted dogs, and provide legal awareness workshops for Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers.

Icon Promoting Health

Rehab Facility & Vaccines

PDC’s Rehabilitation Facility hosts a veterinary clinic to allow PDC to house and care for injured, sick, or orphaned painted dogs with minimal handling until they recover enough to rejoin their families in the wild. Using the Rehabilitation Facility, PDC keeps painted dog numbers up, ensures the safety of threatened packs, and educates the public to improve the perception of the painted dogs.

Icon Honoring Culture

Iganyana Art Centre

PDC’s Iganyana Art Centre houses crafts, materials, equipment, training, and facilities for youth and adult art projects. The primary goal of the center is to bring financial benefit to local artists, but also to encourage conservation through the sustainable use of natural resources in product design, with artists even transforming snare wire traps into sculptures.

Impact by the Numbers

1,293

students educated through PDC's education programs inn 2023

5,037 Fill 1 Created with Sketch.

poaching snares removed PDC’s Mabale Community Anti-Poaching Unit in 2023

1,215 Fill 1 Created with Sketch.

patrols conducted by the Mabale Community Anti-Poaching Unit in 2023

$60 will send a local child to PDC’s Bush Camp for four days.

$1,200 will feed the dogs in PDC’s rehabilitation facility for one year.

PDC protects painted dogs from threats like poaching snares.

"Zimbabwe is one of the few countries where painted dogs still have a fighting chance to survive" says Peter Blinston of Painted Dog Conservation (PDC). Watch this video and learn more about PDC's incredible work to save this endangered wild dog, protecting them from threats like poaching snares.

David Kuvawoga and Peter Blinston Talks Painted Dogs at Expo

David Kuvawoga and Peter Blinston shares how Painted Dog Conservation is protecting one of Africa’s most threatened carnivores, the painted dog, through community, education, and conservation programs in Zimbabwe.

News & Stories

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Welcoming New Painted Dog Packs to Hwange

Jealous Mpofu adjusted his grip on the radio telemetry antenna jutting out of the window. The midday sun caused the... Learn More
Capturing Conservation Through a Personal Lens

Capturing Conservation Through a Personal Lens

Community engagement is vital to conservation success—it allows conservationists to involve local people in the management and protection of the... Learn More
Putting Anti-Poaching into Community Hands

Putting Anti-Poaching into Community Hands

The group moved steadily through the bush, their boots stamping the straw-colored dirt of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. Slung over... Learn More
Saving Africa's Largest Wild Canine

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African painted dogs are a magnificent species known for the mottled tapestry of their fur, bestowed in patterns unique to... Learn More
Clearing the Path for Painted Dogs

Clearing the Path for Painted Dogs

With the COVID-19 pandemic, wildlife poaching is on the rise around the world. Without anti-poaching patrols operating at full capacity... Learn More
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As the light of the sun dwindles and the sky saturates to a celestial blue, a Zimbabwean conservationist catches sight... Learn More
Mpindo: Chapter Four

Mpindo: Chapter Four

Many of you will have been following the story of the Mpindo pack, which has been featured in our newsletters since June... Learn More
Every Painted Dog Counts: Browny Gets a Second Chance

Every Painted Dog Counts: Browny Gets a Second Chance

I was fiddling with my camera and momentarily distracted when the kids started shouting. I was on a safari drive... Learn More
A Dog’s Life. Mphindo, Chapter Three

A Dog’s Life. Mphindo, Chapter Three

There are no certainties in conservation, and indeed life, however capturing the Mphindo pack for the second time was as... Learn More
Mpindo Reloaded

Mpindo Reloaded

Many of you will remember the story of the Mpindo pack from last year. The pack of two adults had... Learn More
Late Rains Relieve the Poaching Pressure

Late Rains Relieve the Poaching Pressure

I grew up in the U.K. and have thus seen more rain than I care to mention. And as much... Learn More
Extra Footage from BBC's Dynasties: Painted Wolf

Extra Footage from BBC's Dynasties: Painted Wolf

Peter Blinston of Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) works on the frontline of saving painted wolves (also known as painted dogs... Learn More
Moving Painted Dogs to Safety

Moving Painted Dogs to Safety

The painted dog pup—only two weeks old—rests in Peter Blinston’s gloved hands. Its mottled black and white fur is covered... Learn More
Launching a Kickstarter Campaign to save Painted Wolves

Launching a Kickstarter Campaign to save Painted Wolves

The painted wolf, also known as African wild dog and painted dog, is one of Africa’s most persecuted predators; it... Learn More
Saluting Rangers Worldwide on World Ranger Day

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Rangers, forest guards, warriors, scouts, field enforcement officers—the titles they serve under are many, but these brave women and men... Learn More
A Conservation Trailblazer

A Conservation Trailblazer

The signs are subtle, but Belinda Ncube knows what to look for. A branch that’s been intentionally broken, a shoeprint... Learn More
On the Cusp of a Brighter Future for Painted Dogs

On the Cusp of a Brighter Future for Painted Dogs

Six days of relentless searching in scorching temperatures. Six days of false alarms and close calls. That’s how the team... Learn More
A Silver Lining

A Silver Lining

We recently received a report that painted dogs had killed a goat in a nearby village. This was not the... Learn More
How to Rescue a Snared Painted Dog

How to Rescue a Snared Painted Dog

Poachers continue to plague the African wild dogs of Zimbabwe. The country suffers from severe inflation, so in an effort... Learn More
Finding Answers for Painted Dog Conservation with Genetics

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Conservation takes many approaches. On one hand, there’s the on-the-ground work in the field to protect wildlife from poachers, snares,... Learn More
Local Community Protects “Their” Painted Dogs

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On the main highway that runs between Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, painted dogs are all too often run over... Learn More
Tracking the Painted Dog

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As Director of Technology for WCN, one of my responsibilities is to help our Partners use technology effectively to help... Learn More
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This post was written by Ewaso Lions team members Jeneria, who recently visited Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) in Zimbabwe. Ewaso Lions... Learn More
World Environment Day 2018

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Today—on World Environment Day—we'd like to highlight some of the actions our Conservation Partners are taking to help create a... Learn More
Photography Credits: Nicholas Dyer / nicholasdyer.com, Will Burrard, Steve Mandel
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