Zimbabwe Wild Dogs

The denning season has kicked off and it was heartening to see at least five beautiful pups in the Pita Pack’s den. At the beginning of the year this pack consisted of just four males which were later joined by a female. Hopefully some of the pups will survive and thereby increase the pack’s size.

When wild dogs den, they become tied to a smaller home range. This lasts for three to five months. Once the pups are old enough they can join the adults and then the pack can roam more widely. Denning season varies depending on the pack’s location and their habitat. Mothers need a good supply of water during lactation and the pack requires a ready source of prey near the den site.

Pups are usually born once a year, and litter sizes may vary between four to twelve pups. When there is more than one breeding pair in the pack, the pups of the alpha pair will be born first. The beta female will suckle both her pups and the alpha female’s and remains behind in the den. She has to beg food from the pack when they return from hunting and her job is to be the babysitter. The beta female begs for food by assuming a submissive posture and whining.

Pups remain underground in the den until they are three to four weeks old. They then emerge to explore their surroundings, play, suckle and feed on meat regurgitated to them by the rest of the pack. When they are older they are taken to the kill and given priority for feeding, with the rest of the pack waiting their turn. Young dogs start to hunt when they are 12 months old, but they only become expert hunters when they are about 18 months old. Once they become successful hunters they can then leave their natal pack to start a breeding pack.

Today is the beginning of the second term for schools in Zimbabwe. Over the holidays we have been busy engaging with local communities in conjunction with Happy Readers and have been running mobile libraries.  Families in Chishakwe were visited and offered reading material. For some of the people in the community this was their first introduction to the conservation material we have in our library and we catered for all age groups.

It was encouraging to find that both the parents and children were enthusiastic about the books and other reading material. Most parents were eager for their children to read about conservation and were keen that the library be used to help with their children’s literacy and education.

Education and community outreach is an important component of the wild dog project as human-wildlife conflict issues can be addressed in this way and education is one of the greatest tools that can be used in conservation biology. The programme also is geared towards improving the reading levels of members of the community, across all age groups. The school holiday activites in Chishakwe were therefore judged to be a success and a step towards the overall goal.

Whilst recently staying at Chishakwe in the Save Valley Conservancy I had the amazing opportunity to join Rosemary as she tried to collar an endangered African Wild Dog. In order to give a perspective from a non-expert I offered to write this blog entry.

It is not as simple as just heading out and finding the pack that you wish to collar, you need them to be in an area that you can get to by vehicle and that is open enough to allow you to easily follow them when trying to get a clean shot. Whilst the scouts use motorbikes giving them great manoeuvrability, Rosemary needs to be able to approach in a 4×4 to bring all the necessary equipment. Hence, we had to wait for Rueben to find the pack and advise whether or not we would be able to get a vehicle into the area where the dogs were. Eventually the call came in that the dogs had settled in a suitable area and we were soon packed up and on route, hoping that they would still be there when we arrived.

It took us about 45 minutes to get to the point on the road where we would meet Rueben. Initially the area did not look too promising, as the roadside vegetation here was quite thick, but Rueben assured us that it was much more open where the dogs were, about 500 metres away. Heading off-road we drove to about 200 metres from the dogs staying downwind and out of sight and here we spent some time whilst Rosemary and Rueben prepared the drugs and dart gun.

Now all set we moved to a position from where we could see the dogs. Rosemary advised that I should stay in the vehicle and she would send Rueben back for me and that it could take some time, especially if the dogs decided to move and they had to give chase. So whilst I remained inside the 4×4 Rosemary hopped onto the back of Rueben’s motorbike and they circled around the dogs, looking for a good angle to shoot from. Whilst the vegetation was not that thick it was only occasionally that I could obtain glimpses of them through the trees and attempt to grab a few photographs of the pursuit.

Despite having been warned that it could take some time to get into a suitable position to take a clean shot it was only 3 or 4 minutes later that I heard the first shot, well actually more of a “phut” sound as high pressure air is released, but could not see Rosemary or Rueben and did not know if it was a hit. At the sound of the shot the dogs that I could see all jumped up, but only ambled a few yards, as though searching for a threat, but unable to identify anything they either sat back down or stood looking around.

Nothing further happened for the next couple of minutes and then I heard another shot, so assumed that the first shot had missed. The dogs reacted similarly the second time around to the first, but perhaps a little more on edge and after a couple of minutes I noticed that one of the dogs was a little wobbly on its legs and I then noted the dart in its flank. I was able to grab a few photos of it before it wobbled out of sight.

Rueben then came back and drove the 4×4 over to where Rosemary was in the process of blindfolding a dog, it was only at this stage that I found out that she had successfully darted two dogs, only the second time ever that she had done this. Studying my photographs later I noted that I had captured both darted dogs in one of my images. Having first darted a male, called Nyoka, he had behaved impeccably walking off slowly and remaining in view, so Rosemary had taken the opportunity to also dart the already collared female, Forax, to replace the old GPS collar with a VHF collar.

With two dogs to process it was going to be all hands to the deck. First task was to help carry both dogs into the shade where they could be worked on and then I was required to keep them both cool by spraying them with water. Whilst I was doing this Rueben was putting on the new collars and Rosemary was carefully removing the darts and applying an antiseptic spray. With plenty of water applied and pulse-oximeters attached to their tongues to monitor their pulse rate and blood oxygen levels, I could now enjoy the experience of being up close to the dogs. In what must have been a time stress, as the lives of those endangered animals were in Rosemary’s hands, it was a joy to watch an expert at work and clearly demonstrating that she knew what she was doing.

Fortunately, in what was probably the textbook example of a double darting, everything went exactly to plan. Rosemary was able to take blood, tissue and hair samples and give the dogs a shot of antibiotics and I was able to help with taking various measurements and photos to show the condition of their teeth.

This had all happened in the space of 40 minutes, which for me had flown by and it was then time for Rosemary to wake them up. We backed the 4×4 away to a safe distance and Rosemary applied the antidote to both dogs. After a brief time Nyoka stood up and after falling over a couple of times walked around in circles like a drunk for the next 5 minutes, whilst Forax remained lying down. With Nyoka still staggering and me starting to get a little worried in the delay in any activity from Forax, she stood up and walked off in a perfectly straight line, as though she had just been enjoying an afternoon nap.

We then left them to join up with the rest of the pack and drove back to Chishakwe, myself having thoroughly enjoyed that once in a lifetime experience of being close to these beautiful endangered animals and an expert clearly passionate about their conservation. So it just remains for me to thank Rosemary for the wonderful experience that she allowed me to be part of that morning.

Out on an early morning walk recently this little dwarf mongoose was spotted ferreting around an ant hill. Dwarf mongooses are carnivores. Interestingly, a dwarf mongoose can have a home range that can cover up to 75 acres – that’s a big area for a relatively small animal! They are gregarious and territorial, often found in groups of up to 15 mongooses. There is a hierarchy within these groups, with a dominant pair at the top which are usually the oldest. Found in most parts of Africa, they don’t have a particular preference for habitats, being quite content in both forests and then semi-arid areas. They often live inside termite mounds like the one in the photos and they are diurnal.

Taking a look outside.

Their scientific name is Helogale parvula, and they can range from 8 to 12 inches in length. Their small size is how they derive their name, as they are the smallest species of mongoose and are one of Africa’s smallest carnivores. They can live to up to 8 years and their main predators are snakes and birds of prey. All members of the group help with raising pups and guarding them against predators. Females born into the group usually stay and move up in rank as they age, but males will disperse and start new groups. Dwarf mongooses breed in the wet season and can have up to three litters at a time. Usually only the dominant female becomes pregnant, however, if conditions are good some of the subordinate females may also reproduce. Initially the young remain underground in termite mounds and are guarded by a member of the band whilst the others go off hunting.

Just checking the coast is clear!

Greetings to all!

We are pleased to announce that Katy Lannas will be joining the African Wildlife Conservation Fund team. Katy is a born and bred Zimbabwean, with a background in zoology, botany and ecology. She grew up in Harare and then went on to study at the University of Cape Town and also in Lausanne, Switzerland. She has now returned to Zim and is eager to get involved in conservation work here. For the past three years prior to joining AWCF, she has worked as an environmental consultant with Black Crystal Environmental Consultants and SiVest Zimbabwe. She has also worked with the Conservation Society of Monavale Vlei in Harare (COSMO), helping to lobby for the protection of the city’s wetland areas. In addition, she works for the Development Reality Institute in Harare, helping with the online course they run on climate change and global warming, and assisting with the development of a website for Zimbabwe on the Millennium Development Goals with UNDP and the Ministry of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion.

We welcome her aboard to AWCF as the Research and Logistics Manager. She will assist with writing scientific publications, marketing, fundraising and logistics.

Hi folks,

Over the last month we’ve been witnessing mating in the various wild dog packs in the Save Valley Conservancy.  We’re really looking forward to the denning season, when we hope we’ll get lots more pups.

Here’s what we have to look forward to .  Photos are courtesy of Trent Binford-Walsh

We should be starting to notice pregnancy in the alpha females any day now, and I’ll be sure to update you as soon as we do!

Why don’t you consider a trip to Chishakwe Ranch where the AWCF field team is based to see this for yourself?

Back soon,

Rosemary

Hi Folk,

I’ll keep this blog up to date as much as I can, but for short regular updates and load of great pictures and stories, please visit and ‘like’ our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/AfricanWildlifeConservationFund

Rosemary

Hi folks,

As you’ll have seen from the last post, there is an urgent need to improve the literacy levels in rural primary schools in Zimbabwe.  The fact is that most children can barely read by the time they leave primary school (12/13 years old).  What chance will these children have in life??

It’s not their fault – it’s not that they are stupid or don’t pay attention in lessons.  It’s not always the case that the teachers don’t care or don’t know how to teach.  It’s because they have nothing to learn with.  How can you learn to read a book without a book??  And even if you have a book, if you haven’t been taught to read through a proper literacy training program, you cant just pick it up and read it.

Teaching someone to read is no easy job.  And it’s impossible without the right resources.

We have therefore teamed up with Happy Readers to try and do something about this.  We recently provided sets of the nine Level 1 Literacy Books to eight more schools around Save Valley Conservancy and Gonarezhou.

And we then held a workshop to train the teachers in how to use the resource, and why it works.  We had a great representation from the 12 schools that now have the books, and were also honored by the presence of the District Education Officer from Chipinge District and representatives from the Chiredzi and Buhera DEO offices.

Conor O’Beirne from Happy Readers came down to do the workshop:

The teachers listened attentively and by all accounts were thrilled with the concept of the scheme

A game towards the end got everyone involved and showed what fun learning to read can be, when it’s done right:

Finally, it was time for the presentation of the books:

Malilangwe Trust also bought the books for two of their schools, so in total we were able to hand out books for 10 more schools!  Literacy tests have been conducted in the schools, and we look forward to seeing the progress next year.

Back soon,

Rosemary

African Wildlife Conservation Fund has teamed up with Happy Readers to try and get literacy books into the rural schools surrounding Save Valley Conservancy and Gonarezhou National Park as part of our education and outreach program.

From initial literacy testing, it was clear that there was a serious need for this:  even students towards the end of their primary school career were unable to read at all.  And we are told by secondary schools teachers that they are also struggling with very high levels of complete illiteracy in their schools.

Just for a minute try and imagine your life if you couldn’t read… Imagine all those opportunities that you would not have had or been able to take advantage of.  Imagine what a struggle it would be to do anything with your life.  Imagine how you would have no alternative than to believe everything you are told, and no alternative than to depend on the natural resources around you for survival.

If you cannot read, you cannot learn, and if you cannot learn, you cannot change your life…

It’s a tragedy that Zimbabwe, which once had one of the highest literacy levels in Africa and one of the best education systems in the world, has now collapsed to such an extent that we see such shocking figures:

Thanks to funding from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund we were recently able to purchase Happy Reader level 1 books for eight more of the primary schools around the key wildlife areas.  Together with the two schools we did last year, and two schools that Malilangwe Trust has sponsored, the books are now in twelve schools in the area.  Since we work with 123 primary schools, we still have a way to go, but we’ve made a start and will have changed the lives of those students, without a doubt.

Last week, with the support of the District Education Officers of the four districts involved in the program at this stage, we held a training workshop for the teachers to use the scheme.  I’ll post more about that workshop in the next post.

The Happy Reader Books use use animals as characters and help the children to relate to wild animals as individuals and friends rather than simply a food source.  As the levels progress, they bring in basic conservation messages.  We believe that this program (aimed at Grades 1 & 2s primarily) will complement our environmental education programs in the higher grades, thus helping us achieve our conservation goals as well.

The scheme has been shown to be successful in many of the areas where it has been implemented, and is so popular with teachers that virtually every single private primary school in Zimbabwe has bought the books.  We just hope that we can help those poor rural schools to get the same opportunities.

If anyone can help – please click on DONATE on the right hand side of this page.  Your money will go straight to the African Wildlife Conservation Fund via a safe and secure method (PayPal) and you can specify that you want it to be used for literacy books.

There are very few better ways to make a real difference to people’s lives.

Thank you!

Rosemary