It’s the mid 90’s and he is sitting in a car in Kenia during a safari. Ron and his wife are finally watching a rhino in the wild. It’s a moment of amazement. Not just because of this animal standing in front of them, but also because of the van in the background. ‘Wild nature’ is what they came for, but they soon realized reality was totally different.

I’m talking to Ron van der A, a wildlife enthusiast from the Netherlands. Even though he has a background in banking and investments, Ron is the embodiment of the saying “I wasn’t born in Africa, but Africa was born in me”. During his first safari in Kenia, a lot of things changed for Ron and his wife. I can’t wait to ask more about his journey he took and the position he fulfills now at the Painted Dog Conservation.

 

What happened after that first moment in Kenia?

After my wife and I witnessed the rhino in Kenia, I knew I had to give something back. I started eco-volunteering, something that happened a lot those days in Africa. My first project was based in Swaziland, where I would ‘walk the white rhinos’. After that, I joined Peter Westerveld in building dams. We did this to restrain the water from flowing away. I watched elephants bath, shrubs grow and crocodiles inhabiting small pools. All as a result of our efforts. After that, I was standing at an event, talking about our rhino project. That’s where I met Peter Blindston and Greg Rasmussen from Painted Dogs. I knew then and there that this would be my next project.

 

It was a long time ago that you joined the Painted Dogs. How did that change over the years?

The first years, we visited the Painted Dogs multiple times. Typically, we didn’t see a single animal that first year. However, in 2001 when my wife joined me on my trip, we finally saw the dogs! After visiting multiple times, I decided to become more professional in my way of supporting this project. The foundation Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) was established.

Right now, PDC has grown to roughly 60 employees, who work there full time. All of them are locals, connected to two local chiefs. People outside of these communities are not allowed as an employee, as the jobs and payments are very necessary to the locals themselves. You can imagine that 60 employees have the total responsibility over 600 people who live in the villages nearby. They are family, friends or neighbors that don’t earn enough themselves. We’re proud to see PDC grow and evolve with the locals so thoroughly involved.

Peter and I are the only ‘white men’ involved in the PDC. Even though we don’t usually give ourselves job titles, I now fulfill my role as chairman in the foundation. Peter is the executive director and he has been doing this for over 20 years now. We can’t imagine it otherwise.

 

Can you tell us more about the location of PDC?

We are based in Zimbabwe in Hwange National Park. It’s where the dogs live as well. The history behind this location is based on research that was done here. In the 90’s research showed that the dogs who came outside of Hwange National Park were often found dead. This was the area where they came in conflict with local people. Snares, traffic accidents and shootings were the main cause of these deaths. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes bad luck.

Our core value which rose from this research is still the same today. We want to help and conserve the painted dog population, by firstly finding the critical issues on site and then changing this for the better. As some of the critical issues are directly related to ignorance and prejudice from locals about this species, we also have a strong focus on education.

 

Which facilities and subteams do you have on site?

1. Let’s start with the research team! We have both senior and junior trackers, who try to find the dogs daily. We do this by sight (who has seen them and where) and with the use of VHS collars. The past years we attached these collars to some of the dogs, so we can find them via radio telemetry. Our team is trained in finding the dogs this way. As soon as they find them, our trackers take the dogs’ feces and sometimes they ‘dart’ them for blood samples. Both of this will be used in further research, to find out what they ate and if they’re in good health.
2. Next we have the rehabilitation center. We use this for temporarily hurt dogs, who have been caught in snares or have hurt themselves in the field. Snares are part of poaching here in the National Park, so we see it a lot unfortunately. Besides that, the rehabilitation center is the permanent residence of some of the dogs. They are blind, have only three paws or they are otherwise heavily injured. The only option for survival is keeping them with us.
3. Our third team is the anti-poaching unit. Knowing that the snares in the field are waiting for dogs and other wildlife is devastating, so we are proactively working on removing those snares from the field. 16 people and 2 K9-sniffing dogs are working together to find and remove the traps. Though this might sound perfect, it’s important to notice that it hasn’t always been this way. Taking snares or a dead dog home, used to be seen as a sign that said: ‘If you take just a small part of the snare home, there must be a bigger part still out there. The only reason for leaving that behind could be your own involvement in poaching.’ It sounds cruel, but the general thought would be that way. We are happy to have innovated a system in which we reward the anti-poachers for bringing home the caught dogs and the snares. It has truly changed our results.
4. One of our most impactful facilities and programs is the Bushcamp. As I said previously, it is important for us to show local people the beauty and importance of painted dogs in their area. The Bushcamp is our way of educating young children about this topic. Four days long, they are fully taken care of. Three meals a day, a proper bed and interesting topics to learn about. Often, it’s the first time these children go to a national park and it’s the first time they actually do a safari. It’s amazing to see that after so many years, many of them come back to work here as rangers, anti-poachers or journalists. The Bushcamp has the impact we want it to have.
5. Besides that, we have a museum with an exhibition and we have a global outreach program, in which we help build wells and plant vegetable gardens. Lastly, we support youngsters from local communities with creating responsibility and self development. Without this, they are prone to poach due to boredom. They are very important parts of our program. However, they are smaller projects than the others mentioned.

 

What problems and roadblocks do you notice while trying to help the Painted Dogs?

After many years of trial and error, we are finally at a stage of earning trust from local people and from the chiefs. We are able to track down snares and (wounded) dogs, which enables us to work on a brighter future. But of course, there are also negative aspects to our development and things that we should be very aware of. As much as we would like to solve every problem from our own perspective, we must stay focused on the dogs. We are still and always in service to them. At the same time, we should keep the local community in our minds. Collaboration with and understanding them is one of the aspects we must never forget. And last but not least, don’t forget that ‘the more research you do, the more insecure your previous research becomes’. Don’t be fooled by the mistakes you made when you didn’t know any better.’

 

What’s your last advice?

Come and see the painted dogs for yourself. I can keep on talking about the multi-faceted beauty of this species and our project, but only one glance here will win you over. I’d happy to show you what I mean.