Rotary Club of Attadale
22 February at 18:30 · The Rotary Club of Attadale President Colin McCulloch welcomed the Guest Speaker John Lemon and his wife Angela to the Club meeting on Monday 19th February. John is currently Chairman of Painted Dog Conservation Incorporated Australia and Chairman Zambian Carnivore Programme. Attadale Rotarian Bev Moffat gave members a very eloquent and interesting introduction of John's involvements. He balances his time between Curator Operations at Perth Zoo, Western Australia and working in the field in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia. Also known as the Painted Wolf, African Wild Dog and Cape Hunting Dog, the African painted Dog is the most endangered large carnivore in Africa. John has devoted his life to saving the dog and is fully supported by his wife Angela. The African Painted Dog is one of Africa's most misunderstood predators. Their coats of white, black and tan form coat patterns that are individual to each animal - no two coat patterns are the same. They are intensely social carnivores and travel in packs of up to 30 animals with the dominant male and female breeding. All pack members contribute to the care of the pups and when the pack goes hunting, the pups eat first. The pack also cares for old and sick pack members. While there are benefits to their social behaviour, there are also drawbacks. All too often a member may contract a disease which can wipe out a whole pack. They hunt a variety of prey species from small to medium sized animals including Antelope and sometimes Wildebeest.

From a population of more than 300,000 only a century ago, the African Painted Dog now numbers only about 2,500 in the wild and has viable populations in only six main countries. They are now internationally classified as an endangered species.

Painted Dog Conservation Inc(PDCInc) was established in 2003 and works with in-situ projects in the African Painted Dog's range states to conserve the species.

​To learn and understand more about PDCInc Mission and achievements the website is as follows:-
www.painteddogconservation.iinet.net.au