After battling through 2020 we started 2021 with our usual mix of determination and optimism, or put another way “hope for the best and prepare for the worst”.

It was disappointing but not unexpected, when the schools didn’t open in January, due to the rising cases of COVID-19. We were obviously ready to resume our Bush Camp programme, but that was put on hold again and all we could do was wait.
 
Being vaccinated against COVID-19 is, some would argue, a controversial decision to make, however all of our staff, me included, took the opportunity presented and followed the Government recommendations to do so. Furthermore, being vaccinated enabled David and myself to travel to the USA for the vital WCN Expo in October.
 
We resumed our Community Anti-Poaching operations in May 2021, with enough funding in hand to carry this through until the first rains in November. It was a tremendous success again. Not only because of the extended protection we could provide for the painted dogs and all the wildlife but because of the impact it had in the community and for our standing in the community. 
 
Happily, the Schools eventually opened and Wilton plus his team managed to squeeze all of the targeted schools through our four-day residential programme in just over five months rather than the usual nine months! It was a tremendous feat and highlights the dedication of the team to ensure that this year’s grade six children didn’t miss out as their peers sadly did in 2020.

The strain of putting on back to back Bush Camps wasn’t only felt by Wilton and his team. Dought and his Maintenance team had to keep on top of the repairs needed at the Bush Camp caused by this none stop use. Last, our brilliant mechanic, and his team, had no time at all to service the vehicles and keep them operational; try running such a Bush Camp with no vehicle! The Rehabilitation Facility team led by Shepherd, and all the Admin team played their parts to ensure this year's Bush Camp programme was delivered no matter what.
 
You have heard me say many times before that everything we do, at the end of the day, is for the painted dogs. Jealous and the Research team spend literally days upon days searching for the various packs we monitor. We were let down again by the failure of the over-expensive GPS collars. Little in life is guaranteed, we know that, but these expensive pieces of equipment come with absolutely no guarantee and without exception fail before their due date. The story of Michy is yet another case in point.
 
Jealous is undeterred by such technological failures and leads the team daily, backed up by “Doc” Madzikanda. Feeding back vital information on the location of the various packs, which we use to deploy the anti-poaching units as strategically as possible to help keep the individual dogs alive and consequently the packs intact.
 
You continue to support us through thick and thin and we cannot thank you enough for that. We never take that support for granted and are humbled by your determination and commitment. It was great to be able to welcome some of you here again in 2021 and also for David and myself to be able to travel and see many of you in the USA at least. We hope that travel becomes easier and that we see many more of you out here, in 2022. You are all part of our team and we cannot achieve what we do without you being with us. 

Poaching remains one of the main threats to the survival of painted dogs, especially outside Hwange National Park. Since its formation in 2001, our anti-poaching team has provided direct protection to painted dogs, their prey, and the rest of the wildlife, deterring poachers through a boots on the ground policy and removing any snares set. 

Many of you will remember that in 2020 we saw an unprecedented rise in poaching activities outside Hwange National Park as seen by the high number of snares we removed. The rise can be attributed to COVID-19 induced lockdowns, retrenchments, and pay cuts that pushed people into poaching for survival.

Thanks to the Community Volunteers, in 2021 we managed to keep the poaching under check. The comparison below shows an sharp decline in the number of snares removed in the wild in 2021 versus 2020, which we attribute to the increased coverage by the scouts on the ground.

These Community APU scouts have been helping us since 2014 and with such proven support from them, it was a pleasure to be able to work with them at a much more strategic level. The daily stipend we provide them also brings a much-needed boost to the local economy, as the majority of it is spent in the local stores. In 2021, we disbursed over US$30,000 to the volunteers.

Having more boots on the ground helped tackle all the known poaching hotspots, providing a blanket of protection for all wildlife.
We maintained our presence in Sinamatela, supporting ZPWMA.  

The continued presence in the field is an effective deterrent factor, limiting poaching activities as culprits fear crossing paths with our scouts. This is why in 2022 we will seek more support to have the Community Volunteers back in the field again.

The Mabale Community Volunteers were deployed in Gwayi with some of our main APU scouts. This collaboration helped keep poaching levels in this otherwise poaching hotspot under control. As a result, only 1922 snares and 8 poacher arrests, a significant drop in cases compared to the previous year.

In September 2021, our anti-poaching unit scouts joined 150 other ranger teams across Africa in the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Challenge (WRC). They ran the 21km in full uniform and kit weighing 22kg to raise funds and awareness for thousands of rangers who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The livelihoods of Wildlife Rangers throughout Africa and the animals they are responsible for protecting are under threat in face of the pandemic. We received amazing support both locally in Zimbabwe and internationally. 

We engaged one of Zimbabwe's young upcoming conservation voices, Rumbidzai Takawira, to help drum up the campaign and get as much support and recognition for the Wildlife Ranger as possible. Through her influence, we partnered with a local corporate Nyaradzo Group of Companies to donate food hampers to the Mabale Community Antipoaching Volunteers for their incredible work supporting PDC anti-poaching efforts.

One of our major priorities during this COVID-19 period has been the safety of our staff as well as assisting local communities that we work with in response to the pandemic.  In pursuit of this, through your support, we sourced and donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to 7 local clinics and 1 referral Hospital in the Hwange district. The combined health centers serve at least 20,000 people in the communities surrounding Hwange National Park that we work closely with.

We made a pledge and commitment to keep all our staff on full pay throughout the COVID-19 period even when some had to stay at home to decongest the working place and make it safe.

However, our community outreach programs, such as the Iganyana Arts Centre and Iganyana Children's Bush Camp had to be postponed until the situation improved.

As mentioned earlier, being vaccinated against COVID-19 is, some would argue, a controversial decision to make, however all of our staff, me included, took the opportunity presented and followed the Government's recommendations to do so. Working with the Ministry of Health and stakeholders in our area, we used our Visitors Centre as a location to administer the vaccinations to as many people as possible in the area, with particular attention being given to the embattled safari industry. All our staff had got their second jab of the Sinopharm vaccine by the end of April.

We recorded one COVID-19 case among our staff towards the end of 2021. Fortunately, the staff person in question had very mild symptoms and he fully recovered without any complications and no further infections.

We supported the Mabale Clinic and the district health office vaccination campaigns and out-reaches in communities that border Hwange National Park and that we work with. 

We struck a strategic partnership with 4x4 OutFar to bring the Eye Clinic to school-going kids and teachers in our local primary and secondary schools. The partnership saw more than 3500 kids receive free eye screening and over 50 with eye problems received spectacles for free.

It is of paramount importance for local communities to see the benefit of working with conservation organisations like us and play their role in protecting the endangered painted dog. None of this would have been possible without the support of people like you, people who believe in conservation and want it to succeed. We are grateful.

The Iganyana Children's Bush was arguably the most affected program by COVID-19.

The Bush camp was closed in March 2020 as COVID-19 struck hard and was only opened again in August 2021.

Before it was safe to re-open the Iganyana Children’s Bush Camp, our educators took the Conservation Education to the schools reaching out to 1604 kids. This made sure kids benefit from the extensive environmental education that they are taught at the Iganyana Children’s Bush Camp even when it was closed.

Taking advantage of the inactivity at the Iganyana Children's Bush Camp for the better part of the year, Dought and his Maintenance team undertook major renovations that had been overdue. 

Everyone was excited, the kids, the camp staff, and our supporters but the work ahead was not an easy one. To adhere to COVID-19 protocols, the camp had to split some classes into 2 or 3 to allow for social distancing and easy management of kids.

With only five months of the year left, the pressure of the task to bring all kids to camp was immense.

To cope with this, we made our end-of-year appeal about the Bush Camp to raise at least 100k for the program just to get the extra hands and resources to complete the task. 

We are delighted to report that the campaign was a success, and we managed to cater for all 21 local primary schools that were targeted to come to the Iganyana Children's Bush Camp. 

A deep understanding of the painted dogs underpins everything we do. To this end, we monitor painted dog packs using radio collars to track their behaviour and hunting patterns, identify any causes of injury or death, and keep a close eye on packs we deem particularly vulnerable or in unsafe areas. 

The monitoring effort undertaken in 2021 was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak which closed all research efforts for months.

Nevertheless, our extensive network of support from with guides in safari camps inside Hwange National Park (HNP) got us regular sighting reports of the pained dogs when we couldn't access the park. This helped us establish a picture of how the dogs were doing.

With sightings of the Chowato, Spectrum, Somamalisa, and Shumba packs, the data coming from HNP indicates a reasonably stable viable population in 2021 with 172 adult dogs, in 26 packs with a pack size of 6.6. Four breeding units were recorded with a total of 31 pups.

Additionally, we recorded a new pack, the Sandoval pack, which had not been recorded in our ID files before. PDC is confident that more packs and breeding units would have been recorded if it was not for the COVID protocols during the course of the reporting period.

The successful merger of the Mathathela pack males the troubled Mpindo pack surviving females gave the pack a new beginning and have added to the Hwange population.

Our Rehabilitation Facility was established in 2002 designed to allow us to deal effectively with any eventuality concerning sick or injured individual dogs, orphaned pups, and translocated packs. A total number of 85 painted dogs have been housed since the establishment of the facility.

In 2021 eight dogs, including the Mpindo females, were accommodated at the Rehabilitation Facility and released back into the wild, where they belong.

The painted dog population in the Mid Zambezi including Mana Pools (based on known packs) is 128 adult dogs from 14 packs, and 4 breeding units were recorded during the current reporting period with a total of 17 pups, making an average pack size of 9.2