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Trees A CrowdA podcast for those curious about the world around us. Entertaining and informative discussions with people inspired by, or devoted to, our Natural World. Author: David Oakes
Ever wondered what happens when you fill a cello with bees? Or how robins have successfully colonised the outer-reaches of our universe? Or why the world is destined to be populated purely by female turtles? This podcast celebrates nature and the stories of those who care deeply for it. Join artist, actor and Woodland Trust & Wildlife Trusts ambassador David Oakes, for a series of informal, relaxed conversations with artists, scientists, creatives and environmentalists as they celebrate the beauty of the natural world and how it inspires us as human beings. All episodes available at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Painted Dogs of Hwange: Where the Wild Pack Runs
Episode 10
Monday, 11 May, 2026
Recorded on the outskirts of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, this episode drops David into the high-stakes reality of animal conservation. Guided by Peter Blinston and his team at Painted Dog Conservation, David joins the people whose work keeps Lycaon pictus alive in the buffer zone:Belinda Ncube, PDC’s first female ranger, whose story runs from childhood bush camp to leading a unit of women in a landscape still shaped by patriarchal assumptions;Adraino Sitole, who began as a community volunteer after a Painted dog was killed in a snare just moments from his village, and now tracks poachers with trained sniffer dogs while helping remove thousands of wire traps from the bush;and David Kuvawoga, PDC's Director of Operations, who literally takes Oakes from patrol to rapid response - explaining how the team uses radio alerts and 24/7 tracking to push packs away from snares, highways and other anthropogenic threats, and why, in this context, the low risk of ‘...a habituated wild dog is better than a dead wild dog.’Painted Dogs may be Africa’s most effective large hunter, but they cannot outrun snares, disease spillover from domestic animals, a barage of road vehicles, or the human economics that drive bushmeat poaching in the first place. In this episode, David wrestles, in real time, with the moral knot at the heart of modern conservation: when drought, food insecurity and job scarcity push people towards the wild, removing snares is urgent, life-saving triage - yet it’s also only a sticking plaster if the conditions that put the wire in the bush remain unchanged. What emerges is the logic of PDC’s approach: conservation that extends beyond tracking collars and snare patrols into community investment - education, employment, youth programmes, and practical alternatives - because long-term ecological security in Hwange doesn’t begin with the dogs. It begins with the people who share their land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
