The Lower Zambezi Valley has the potential to be a stronghold for painted wolves in Zambia. Yet the population has remained unstable and has gone extinct several times in recent years. Much is still unknown about the packs in the landscape.
With funding from the Painted Dog Fund, Christine Mwewa was brought aboard as Conservation Lower Zambezi’s (CLZ) new ecologist. Christine has been given training with PWF’s Ruth Kabwe, whose extensive experience in painted wolf conservation has helped her begin the critical work of monitoring the packs to better understand the threats they face.
Christine is currently focusing on the Jeki Pack, which has been denning in the escarpment around the Nkalengi area. The pups have yet to make their first appearance, but the adults are active and often seen hunting across the floodplain. The pack gained notoriety from their extraordinary habit of killing buffalo – something which is very rare for painted wolves.
Christine is now gaining a better understanding of this pack, creating ID files and building a clearer picture of pack dynamics. These ID files are crucial for knowing the composition of the pack but more importantly, understanding who is missing and whether that is due to normal dispersals or mortalities from threats such as snaring, road kills and disease outbreaks like rabies.
By monitoring the packs this closely, CLZ can better understand the nature of the threats they face and implement proven conservation mitigations to protect them.
Images of the Jeki Pack.
