Wild dogs are in trouble. To save them from extinction, new and innovative conservation methods are needed – urgently.
This is exactly what Peter Lindsey is doing, with funding from The Green Trust. Lindsey is doing a ‘bio-economic analysis of wild dog conservation in southern Africa”, the findings of which he hopes will indicate what it will take to enable the wild dog population to become economically self-sustaining and able to stand on their own four feet.
In order to do this, Lindsey will first need to determine the status and distribution of wild dogs in South Africa, especially those living outside protected areas. This will give a good indication of exactly what needs to be conserved.
Then the minimum area and prey requirements of a pack of wild dogs needs to be ascertained, in order to determine the minimum reserve size and prey population size needed to sustain wild dogs naturally.
Another important objective of the project is to assess existing attitudes towards wild dog conservation outside protected areas. The implications of these attitudes have far-reaching effects – both negative and positive – on the conservation of wild dogs in these areas.
So far Lindsey has found that game ranchers whose income is based on ecotourism generally have an extremely positive attitude to wild dogs, also fondly referred to as painted dogs because of their colourful markings. Many livestock farmers and hunters tend to have a far less positive view.
An important practical aspect of wild dog conservation is the financial cost and corresponding benefit of wild dog conservation across a range of land use categories – from livestock farmers to game ranchers. An investigation into this aspect aims to assess whether wild dogs can effectively pay for their own conservation, through their intrinsic economic value based on tourism. Should this be possible, donor funding could be redirected to those areas in which wild dogs cannot pay for themselves, and wild dog conservation efforts would then become cost-efficient.
Lindsey has been researching three wild dog groups in South Africa, in order to achieve accurate and applicable results. These three groups are the wild dogs in the Kruger National Park, those that are free-ranging outside officially protected areas and those dogs that are part of the meta-population.
The meta-population includes the wild dogs reintroduced to various reserves. Although in isolation these packs do not form viable populations, the sub-populations in the various reserves are linked through management efforts to prevent inbreeding, local extinction or local excess in numbers – and as a result, together form a potentially viable wild dog population.
Lindsey says his project would not be possible without the assistance of landowners and interested organisations, both in South Africa and Zimbabwe. ‘The project is very dependent on the information and good will of people like the Wild Dog Action Group-South Africa, the owners of reserves into which wild dogs have been reintroduced as part of the meta-population, and landowners who have free-ranging wild dogs. They have all given a lot of help.”
During the three years of the project, Lindsey says he has seen positive trends in wild dog conservation. The meta-population has increased and wild dogs have been introduced to Marakele National Park and Madikwe provincial reserve in North West, as well as private reserves such as the Venetia Limpopo Game Reserve and Karongwe Game Reserve.
Still, there’s a way to go. Lindsey is ‘assessing the best way forward with wild dog conservation, so as to better focus efforts in the future.”
He believes it’s quite possible for wild dogs to become self-sustaining and ensure their own conservation, but there are a few more issues that need to be investigated and resolved before this objective becomes a reality.
The next step, he says, is to look at the ecology and impact of wild dogs under game-ranching conditions. ‘We need better understanding of the ecological and economic effects of wild dogs under game-ranching conditions and to determine how practicable ecotourism involving wild dogs on ranch land really is.”
These are practicalities that need to be assessed to determine whether wild dogs can eventually earn their keep. Lindsey says: ‘It is vital, however, that in addition to economic considerations, game ranchers consider the potential ecological benefits of having wild dogs on their properties – for example, through removing sick prey.
‘I believe co-existence of wild dogs and ranchers is quite possible under certain conditions, given tolerance among landowners and an improved understanding of the impact of wild dogs upon prey populations.”
The success of conservation efforts involving wild dogs outside protected areas is dependent on cooperation from landowners. In some areas of the country, this is already happening. In many areas, however, ranchers continue to persecute wild dogs.