African Painted Dog Safari with Dr Greg Rasmussen and Steve Leonard

7th – 18th June 2014

This is a rare opportunity to observe Endangered African painted, or wild, dogs and experience first hand the conservation of this species. Hosted by TV vet Steve Leonard, the trip will take you to Mana Pools and Hwange National Parks with Canid Specialists Dr. Greg Rasmussen & Peter Blinston. Experience Zimbabwe’s amazing wildlife and the Victoria Falls. This safari financially supports the survival of African painted dogs.

Join the first trip of its kind – a wildlife encounter of a different kind – one that is an intimate and informative safari to see African wild dogs in Zimbabwe with leading conservationsists from Painted Dog Conservation; founder and canid specialist Dr Greg Rasmussen and Managing Director Peter Blinston. By going on this safari you will be helping their work; gathering critical data on den locations in Mana Pools and financially supporting activities in Hwange National Park.

Your host for the whole safari is Steve Leonard; Patron of both Painted Dog Conservation and Wildlife Vets International.

Victoria Falls provides the spectacular start of your visit. and then it’s on to Mana Pools to meet Dr Greg Rasmussen who spends almost all of his time researching African painted dogs here.

The safari is timed to coincide when the dogs are more localised and there is a good chance of seeing pups.  Time will be spent locating dens, collating data and observing pack dynamics.

From Mana you’ll fly to Hwange National Park to meet Peter Blinston and the rest of the PDC field officers, spending time visiting the wide ranging projects they have here. You will also witness the start of the annual vaccination programme in Hwange National Park, led by your host and WVI vet on this project, Steve Leonard.

For more about the safari and booking a place, please click here.

Vaccination and Small injuries clinics

Wildlife Vets International provides the veterinary expertise to vaccination and small injuries clinics that Painted Dog Conservation set up every two years, in conjunction with the Zimbabwean Veterinary Department.

These clinics occur in villages in the area of PDC’s Rehabilitation Centre every two years. The vaccination programme against canine diseases such as Rabies and Canine Distemper Virus, creates a barrier of vaccinated domestic dogs preventing disease transmission to African painted dogs.

Domestic dogs are treated for parasites and minor injuries are treated. If the conditions allow it, castrations are also possible.

An equally important outcome is the increase in the welfare of domestic dogs. The owners of the dogs are able to see the direct benefit to them that comes with the conservation of African painted dogs.

These clinics are one of the services that Painted Dog Conservation provide the local community in the name of the Painted dog.

WVI, Painted dogs and BSAVA Congress, ICC Birmingham, 3-6th April

WVI patron and vet on our African Painted dog project, Steve Leonard, will be at our stand (15B in the ICC Hall 1) over the four days of congress. We will also have our big cat vet, Dr John Lewis, and avian specialist, Andrew Greenwood, on the stand on Thursday and Friday.

Spencer Scott Travel’s Liz Drake will be on the stand all day on Friday 4th April to answer all your questions about this amazing safari.

Come and have your picture taken with our larger than life painted dog or Sumatran tiger poster and even perhaps a vet thrown in for good measure!

Steve Leonard

Steve is patron of both WVI and Painted Dog Conservation as well as the vet on this project. Steve has a small animal practice in Cheshire, UK as well as being an active TV personality.

You can follow Steve on @ThatVetOffTheTV and his website.

You can help by donating:

Dr Greg Rasmussen

Greg is Director of Research and founder of Painted Dog Research (1992) now Painted Dog Conservation. He is a senior conservation biologist who spends almost all of his time researching African wild dogs in Zimbabwe and other African countries.

Greg is a member of the IUCN Canid Specialist Group

Greg had a horrific plane crash in the African bush in 2003, which was featured in the Channel 4’s ‘ Alive’ and Discovery Channel’s ‘I shouldn’t be alive’ series.

Painted or wild dogs?

PDC like to call them painted dogs as wild dogs has a bad connotation. They are called painted dogs because of the ‘splodges’ or markings.

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