Painted Dog Rehabilitation in Zimbabwe

🐾 Species: Painted Dog (Lycaon pictus)
📍 Location: Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
🔑 Key Partners: Painted Dog Conservation & EAZA EEP

🏆 We support the successful rehabilitation and reintroduction of endangered painted dogs back into the wild.

The painted dog (Lycaon pictus) is a large carnivore found in several African countries, including Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe. They are highly social, living in packs, and predate on a variety of prey species – such as impala, kudu and wildebeest – on grassy plains and shrubland.  

Their population has plummeted over the past century and it is now estimated that there is less than 7000 individuals left in the wild.  

🚩 What is the problem?

The painted dog’s primary threat is habitat fragmentation, caused by rapid human settlement and infrastructure development. Fragmentation is where part of a habitat is lost or destroyed, leaving behind multiple small, unconnected areas.

This division of viable habitat brings painted dog packs into closer proximity with people, and their domestic animals, resulting in human wildlife-conflict and transmission of infectious disease.

Painted dogs are injured and killed by snares, gunshot and collisions with road traffic. They are also susceptible to a range of diseases carried by feral domestic dogs, such as canine distemper, parvovirus and rabies.

🫶 How are we helping?

Dudley Zoo & Castle cares for a pack of painted dogs, which are part of a wider European breeding programme (EAZA EEP). The EAZA EEP aims to create a large genetically diverse population of painted dogs in captivity as insurance (in case the wild population continues to decline).

Our pack act as ambassadors for their species, helping us raise awareness and funds for their wild cousins.

We donate £5000 per year to Painted Dog Conservation – a non-profit organisation registered in Zimbabwe who aims to protect and increase the range and numbers of painted dogs. They achieve this through wild pack monitoring, rehabilitation, anti-poaching units and community-based conservation.

Our donation helps cover the day-to-day running costs of their rehabilitation facility in Zimbabwe, which houses sick, injured or orphan painted dogs prior to release.

💗 How can you help?

Simply by visiting Dudley Zoo & Castle, you are supporting painted dog conservation. Support us further by…