K9's for Big Cats
PAL is proud to support and join in partnership with Captured In Africa Foundation & Pit-Track K9 Conservationists on this incredible project..
There will be various activities to raise the necessary finance, including sale of PAL bracelets, celebrity support, social media, donations, charity gala dinners, high profile events and fund raising through our three pronged strategy. You can DONATE directly to the project through the Donate button on this page.
Our Mandate is to track, locate & protect at risk big cats.
All too often lion (as well as leopard) find themselves in a compromising position having escaped from the safety of a Big 5 reserve or a sanctuary situation. Due to financial & time restraints, or lack of man power, the various authorities or owners cannot deploy teams to look for the Big Cats & often after days of roaming freely amongst communities bordering reserves, livestock have been killed & community members put in harms way. The authorities often face the difficult decision of having to call in local professional hunters to locate & destroy the Big Cats as they are now deemed ‘problem’ animals.
Three K9’s are currently being trained & becoming accustomed to Lions, so we will be able to track & locate any escapees before they become too much of a problem. This could take anything from a few hours to a few weeks & is dependent on various circumstances. There are a few points that need to be taken into consideration such as; if an exit point has been established, type of terrain, weather conditions, confirmed visuals, number/age & sex of Lions which can be gauged by spoor, if there are cubs & one of the most important aspects is a question of whether the Big Cats are they wild or captive. A captive lion will behave completely differently to a wild lion once faced with people &/or K9’s, as their natural fear of man is gone. They are definitely more dangerous to deal with than wild lions. Once a call comes in, all the relevant members of the team will be immediately deployed to try help solve the crisis situation.
To accomplish this mammoth task, funding, along with a team of experienced personnel need to be put in place. Experts in their field such as veterinary staff need to be called in or placed on standby to assist in darting & obtaining medical data once the Lion or Lions have been located. On occasion, as in the past, the need for air support is required by way of helicopter, fixed wing or drone depending on the type of ground cover & landscape we face.
PAL successfully help fund the Anti Poaching K-9 unit called Pit-Track. With no tourism income to help supplement them. PAL helped support these amazing dogs and handlers who are watching over our wildlife and clearing snares on a daily basis.
