Another dead wild dog

Category: Wild Dogs, poaching | Date: Nov 21 2008 | By: zimbabwewilddogs

Hi folks,

Rosemary here again. I’ve been away from the field for a couple of weeks but am now back in the conservancy and catching up with all the dogs. I’m afraid I have some bad news to report though - Racoon, the young radio-collared female from the Bedford pack has been killed by poachers. That makes her the second collared dog to be killed in snares in the past three months.

She went missing only a few weeks after the dogs left their den in early September, and we hadn’t been able to get a signal from the collar for a while, until yesterday… We were tracking from the top of a big hill trying to locate the Bedford pack, and as usual, doing an opportunistic scan for Racoon’s collar as well. It was an enormous surprise to pick up a signal and I was very excited until I noticed that the area the signal was coming from was in an area of re-settled farmers (’war-vets’)…….

Anyway, we went off in that direction, and, accompanied by a couple that run Turgwe Hippo Trust ( a non-profit hippo conservation organisation based in the conservancy) and their scouts, walked through the bush following the signal. Finally we came across a poachers den, with skins and bones scattered around and a fire for roasting meat. The signal was coming very strongly from that area, but it still took us a good 20 minutes to actually find the collar, which had been cut off the dog and hidden under a pile of boulders!

Spot the collar…. (the bit of orange belt under all the rocks!)

The hiding place of the collar of the dead wild dog

It was very sad to find the conclusive evidence that Racoon had been killed - I had suspected that was the case for a while, but you cant help holding out hope until the evidence is there to show otherwise.

Rosemary retrieving the collar of the dead wild dog killed by poachers

We didnt find the carcass sadly: chances are the meat would have been cut up and sold (labelled as something else as people dont officially eat wild dog meat!), and perhaps the skull taken for use in witchcraft medicine. I guess we wont ever know for sure. Whatever happened though, it is a sad and cruel end to the life of a beautiful, young wild dog, and illustrates all too clearly the threat popsed by snaring to these remarkable and highly endangered species.

Back soon,

Rosemary

Tags: painted hunting dogs, poachers' dens, poaching, radio collars, snaring, Wild Dogs, zimbabwe

5 Responses to “Another dead wild dog”

Pirjo, on 21 Nov 2008

What are the chances of catching these poachers, and if so would they even get charged for killing this endangered animal?

sheryl, washington dc, on 21 Nov 2008

Oh no. This is heartbreaking news. The poachers hid the collar so, clearly, they know they’re breaking the law. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to try and conserve wildlife in Zimbabwe right now. I’m so sorry to learn that Raccoon is dead. So sorry.

zimbabwewilddogs, on 22 Nov 2008

Hi Sheryl,

Yes, it is indeed depressing at times, and we sometimes feel we are fighting an uphill battle. But we are also achieving a lot of good as well, which is important to remember when things like this happen. Poor old Raccoon - she was only a year old as well! Anyway, we shall keep doing our best to look after the rest of them.

Rosemary

zimbabwewilddogs, on 25 Nov 2008

Hi Pirjo,
In response to your questions:
Well, the chances of catching those particular poachers and connecting them with the death of the wild dog ‘Raccoon’ is tiny. There’s simply no way of tracing exactly who it was who laid that snare. However, poachers are caught fairly frequently in this area. The trouble is that the fine for being caught poaching is, I am told, less than the price a poacher can get for a single impala–so there’s little incentive for poachers to stop. Also, this is a massive area of bush and most of the time it’s easy for poachers to get in and out undetected.
In Zimbabwe there’s a much bigger punishment for killing an endangered species such as a Wild Dog or Rhino, but the chances of poachers receiving the full force of the law is small. What’s more, there’s a difference between deliberately shooting a rhino for its horn, and accidentally catching a Wild Dog in a snare you set (albeit illegally) for something else. And then there’s the problem of proving that a particular poacher set that particular snare. And all of this is in the context of people desperate for food. So as you can see, it’s altogether a problematic issue!

Sherri S., on 15 Dec 2008

Rosemary, I’ve just now had time to catch up on reading your blog. I am so distressed by the news of Racoon’s death. Every story of poaching is heart wrenching, but knowing it was the girl I helped name just rips my heart out. Even knowing the dire straits being experienced in your country does not lessen the blow. However, I know you are doing everything you can to protect your dens. My thoughts are with you.

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