The Painted Dog Fund has awarded $50,000 to Kalahari Research & Conservation (KRC) to
support the conservation of painted wolves in KD1 and KD2, a 19,000 km² area of the
Kalahari Desert.
Situated between the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve,
this expansive region serves as a crucial wildlife corridor and buffer zone. Despite the harsh
conditions, KRC’s work within the region has revealed significant number of unstudied
painted wolf packs in the area.
Traditionally, the San communities living in KD1 and KD2 have coexisted with painted
wolves. However, increased livestock herding has led to rising wildlife conflicts, including
painted wolf mortalities, threatening this long-standing balance. Urgent action is needed to
preserve the population and maintain coexistence.
The Painted Wolf Foundation (PWF) partnered with KRC to build conservation capacity
focussed on the painted wolf and commence a monitoring programme to understand the
local population of painted wolves. The project will also support the local San communities’
tolerance towards painted wolves by providing them with an opportunity to benefit financially
from living alongside wildlife. KRC are performing baseline community surveys to
understand San attitudes towards painted wolves and have initiated a camera trap
coexistence payment program that rewards communities when endangered wildlife including
painted wolves are photographed in their areas.
With continued support and innovative community-driven initiatives like those led by KRC,
there is hope that painted wolves can thrive in the Kalahari’s challenging environment whilst
promoting sustainable coexistence of wildlife and the San people.
