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African wild dogs are one of Africa’s most endangered large predators and are considered a top sighting by many safari enthusiasts, Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe is one of the best places to see them. Alison Dewar visited in November 2016 and had a memorable experience.

“Seeing Painted Dogs has been an ambition of mine for many years. Bar one fleeting glimpse in Mana Pools National Park in 1995, the dogs have remained an elusive dream ever since.

When my husband Craig and I began planning for a return trip to Zimbabwe (the first for 16 years) it was time to get serious with working out how and where our best opportunities for viewing the dogs would be.

A chance discovery led me to the Painted Dog Conservation  and the excellent Vintage Camp, which supports PDC, and is just a short drive away and boasts excellent food and hospitality with comfortable rustic accommodation.

There were so many highlights, it’s almost impossible to name them all, but here just a few:

• tracking the Nyamandhlovu Pack with Jealous and seeing them with 12 pups on 3 different occasions
• visiting PDC HQ to see the great buy acyclovir ointment work of the rehabilitation centre, the medical facility and the dedication of the team
• having a personal tour of the Interpretative Hall from Maria and finding out more about the dogs through Eyespot’s life story
• visiting Inganyana Bush Camp, meeting the children from Ngamo School and seeing how much they got out of their visit
• hearing stories from Wilton and Dominic about the education programme’s success stories
• listening to the benefits that the community outreach programmes bring to local communities and, in turn, lead to improved protection for the dogs.

PDC is doing very special work and any support is well deserved – for now and in the future”

Guests with an interest in these highly endangered and fascinating predators should consider adding a few days at Vintage Camp from where you will be able to track the dogs with the researchers from the Painted Dog Conservation Society. Safari Club will be happy to include a visit to the conservancy as part of a longer tour of the Hwange National Park or as an add on to a visit to nearby Victoria Falls.