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Six orphans raised in captivity are about to face the ultimate test. Become a pack and learn to hunt on their own. If this experiment is successful, it could help save a species on the brink of extinction. But the wild is unforgiving. No second chances. no safety nets to survive. They'll need to conquer their fears, outsmart their enemies, and rediscover the instincts nature forgot. Zimbabwe is home to one of the boldest conservation experiments on Earth, the Painted Dog Conservation Project. This isn't just a rescue center. It's a halfway house for one of Africa's most endangered carnivores, Here at the edge of Hangi
National Park, in a reserve more than 10 times the size of Los Angeles, a small team is fighting to save a vanishing predator. Our mission is to rehabilitate any animal that is capable of being rehabilitated back into the wild goes back into the wild. The reason we built all of this is that over the years we've dealt with a lot of snared, injured, orphaned dogs. And we've often had to just treat them in the wild. you know, we've immobilized them, removed the snare, cleaned up the wound, and then
just let them go. You know, you're leaving them very vulnerable in that state. Like this guy here, you know, a few weeks of just recuperation will make all the difference to his chances of survival. Once painted dogs numbered half a million across Africa. Today, fewer than 6,000 remain. They are runners without roads, needing territories bigger than most parks can provide. As space shrinks, they fall prey to lions, hyenas, disease, snares, and even traffic. They had really negative press because of the stupid name wild dog. Everyone was are they domestic dog gone wild? Are they savage? Are they aggressive? And a lot of people didn't even realize that here is a very unique animal.
Greg prefers the name their coats suggest, painted dogs. It's a passion he's carried for more than two decades and one he now shares with Peter. I read a article about Greg uh in a magazine and contacted him and just said I'd like to help. That was nearly 10 years ago. So it was uh quite a significant moment I guess in my life. But the dogs for me have always been a passion since I was a kid. It's the dogs that really got me interested in wildlife and in the first place. You know, watching a documentary on TV when I was about 8 years old about the dogs and that was it. I was hooked.
Here in Hangi, Peter has spent years nursing injured dogs and returning them to the wild. Now he's attempting something far more ambitious. Take six individuals raised in captivity, turn them into a functioning pack, and set them free. Releasing a single dog is a risk, but six who've never hunted together is unprecedented. A typical day in Hangi begins cold and early, the best time to find dog tracks. Field researcher Jealous Oofu tracks freeranging packs using radio collars and a sharp eye. Every dog in Hongi carries a story and Jealous knows them by sight.
Each painted coat as unique as a fingerprint. I like the big ears and then also the wide big white tail. That was my first time to see that animal is really beautiful. For Jealous, tracking painted dogs is more than a job. It's a calling. I think this is going to be my whole of my life. I will never leave this job. I really like it. His brother Exmus Pofu shares the same devotion. He oversees the dogs in the rehabilitation center. Some are too injured ever to return to the wild, but a select few have been chosen for the project's pioneering experiment.
Currently, we've got 11 dogs that are here, and uh we're going to be releasing six of them on Wednesday. Of the six, the newest arrival is young Mashambo, just 10 months old. Orphaned after his father was killed and his mother vanished. He barely survived. Londalloza was snatched from his mother as a puppy. Ula lost his entire family to anthrax after his pack ate infected prey. For the first time, Mashamba will meet the other males.
Like all canids, painted dogs are pack animals. For the project to succeed, they must establish a hierarchy. Without it, even strong individuals stand little chance. The other three are Arrow and her two sisters, Notch, named for her clipped ear, and Penda. All three females were slated for euthanasia after outgrowing their former reserve in South Africa. To prevent fighting among the males, the females will remain separate until all six dogs are relocated together. One dog's not going to survive in the wild on its own. They need to be in a pack. They're a very social animal. So that's what we try and do with the
orphans. We try and form a pack and then release that pack into the wild. They've got much better chances of survival. Even here, the dogs are wild animals, and Peter is careful to keep them that way. They vary feeding time to avoid domesticating the dogs. And each meal is designed to mimic the chase and struggle of a real hunt. It will work once they start sour grease on there. All right, let's get out of the way. Then we'll call Jealous to Okay, close the gate first. As in the wild, they must work together to make sure everyone eats.
Londalloza, like many here, has never hunted alongside others. So, I mean, it's a new thing for him. yeah, he might be just nervous of the whole thing. Anyway, when hunger's high and instincts are sharp, it's important the dogs stay focused on the carcass, not the men. In just 4 days, the six orphans will leave for their new home. We've got a special island which is overpop populated with the impalas. So, we're going to release those six dogs in that island. The island promises a rare chance at survival. No lions, no hyenas, and no humans. Victoria Falls flows into the Zambzi River.
Decades ago, this mighty river was damned to create Lake Kuribba. What were once highlands were transformed into islands. Starvation Island sits amid Lake Kuriba on the northern border of Zimbabwe, 400 km from the Painted Dog Conservation Project. It may only cover around 5 km, but the island is teeming with prey. For young hunters learning to survive, it's the closest thing to paradise.
A rare wild refuge, not a permanent home, but a vital stepping stone. Only if they learn to hunt and survive here, can they earn a place in a true wilderness beyond the island. Ahead lies a 17-hour journey, rough roads, river crossings, and an uncertain future. Keeping the dogs calm is vital. A first round of mild seditives hidden in their meat helps move the dogs one at a time into a small cage. Once inside, the team administers a stronger sedative. Perfect. Well done. That's longer losing ml all the way down to the boxes.
He's been out half an hour. While the dogs sleep, the team fits each with a snare proof collar with metal studs that can snap a poacher's wire before it tightens. Greg will go on ahead to prepare for their arrival at the river. How worked up? Start loading the dogs in. So, we'll put the three females in your car. Let's do that first. Cool water keeps the dogs from overheating as the temperature climbs. A convoy of three trucks heads north, carrying six lives and the hope of a new beginning.
Peter also towes the fuel and supplies needed to sustain them on the island. It's going to be a long trip since uh the road is so bumpy, but uh we'll make it. Every few hours, the convoy halts to check the dogs. all seems well. My team, if you're ready, we are leaving. No. Okay. Once fixed, Exmus pushes ahead with the others while Peter stays back to check on Arrow and one of her sisters. Penda's seditive should have worn off by now, but she's not moving.
She basically didn't wake up from the anesthesia. And that's, you know, that's pretty sad. You just never know. It's like humans. I mean, you never know that every single dog reacts differently under anesthesia. It could have happened at any time. We could have immobilized her for a veterary procedure or whatever and the same thing could have happened. You just accept that as hard as it is and it's upsetting at the time, you accept it. It's a devastating loss. As the convoy pushes on into the night, bush fires light the way. A reminder that survival is always uncertain, especially in the wild. after 16 grueling hours. The first truck reaches Lake Kuriba.
Greg has already heard the bad news. There's no time to mourn. Five lives still need saving. Greg supervises the final stage, a 1-hour boat ride across to the island. No one has slept in more than 30 hours, but the payoff is now just minutes away. park rangers wait at the water's edge to help. After days with barely a nibble, the dogs are hungry and restless. For five young dogs raised in captivity, they're about to take their first real step to freedom. Last out is Mishambo, the only one who knows the wild, but still a little woozy from the journey. So lovely to see this.
Yeah. Okay. True freedom won't happen overnight. For months to come, the team will monitor the pack, watching, helping, and hoping they learn fast enough to survive. We have to keep providing them with food just to give them the time to adapt to being in the wild. Predators in particular are exceedingly tough to get back into the wilds because they've got so much to learn. And it's not just about hunting. It's learning about working together and learning how to understand a territory. They're also the other thing is they come out of captivity. They're not fit. And you can't expect, you know, an animal that's been in captivity for maybe six months or even three months to
be able to suddenly then, you know, do a burst speed of, you know, 65 70 km an hour to run for 3 or 4 km if need be. You just can't expect it. The island offers them a rare chance to learn to become wild. A place rich with prey and crucially free from lions and hyenas. So they don't have to worry while they're trying to get food, they don't have to worry about, you know, lions and hyenas maybe coming to steal their food. And by being on an island, we can monitor it more closely. We can keep an eye on them. If they're not being successful, we can provide meat for them. Worst case scenario is we can recapture them and take them off
the island if it's really not working. The island isn't just a lifeline for these five dogs. It could be a blueprint for rescuing other captive predators around the world. The other hopeful benefit of this whole operation is that there are huge numbers of predators in captivity. The reason given for them staying in captivity is oh we can't release them. They can't go back to the wild. And you know this island it could apply to many other species and not just African species.
Freedom isn't the only first today. Males and females kept separate until now are finally reunited. They waste no time. Londoza immediately bonds with Notch, Arrow's sister. We were quite confident that it wouldn't be a problem. They'd been on a fence line for a long time, so they knew each other. They just hadn't had their physical contact. As soon as we put them together, they were very happy. Fed and free, the dogs begin to explore their new world. Notch has never seen so much water before. Even wild canids share a trait with their domestic cousins. An irresistible urge to investigate, The team heads back to the mainland,
leaving the pack to settle into their first night alone on the island. Until sunrise, the dogs won't see a single human face. Back on shore, it's time for the team to rest, too, and to catch dinner. After months of planning and years of hope, the great painted dog experiment has begun. The dogs are early risers. They're already on the move long before the team arrives. They've been following the scent trails of waterbuck that came to drink during the night. And I think they've been having a bit of fun already testing and s chasing.
It's good fun. Good practice. Yeah. I think they have been chasing them already where they're going to learn how to be dogs again. Yeah. But these students may be slow learners. Yeah. They come down 72 hours now since we put them on the island. And uh they hadn't shown any real sign of hunting shown a bit of interest in uh some of the game the implement water buck but we haven't seen them actually chase anything. Wild dogs are among Africa's most successful predators. When they hunt together they can bring down prey nearly five times their size. But instinct alone isn't enough.
The Impala probably know that the dogs are here, but the dogs uh haven't registered the impala a food source for them, I don't think. In the wild, pups learn to hunt by watching their elders. These orphans have no teachers, only each other. So, how do you awaken instincts buried by captivity? Peter tries to simulate a hunt, dragging a carcass behind a bike to trigger their chasing drive. I dragged the meat behind the bike for a few hundred meters. And that really showed one of the problems we've got, I think, cuz they could only just keep up with me. And I wasn't driving that fast. When I got to the point where we'd
stopped here, they were quite exhausted. After years behind fences, fitness is just another lost survival skill. It's not unexpected. They've lived for two or three years inside our rehab facility except for the uh Machambo male, but he's only a yearling. So, he's also doesn't have very much experience. But it's still early days on Starvation Island. The dogs may be the only land predators, but the water still holds dangers. Greg and Jealous find fresh tracks on the shoreline. The heavy scuffs and sweeping tail marks belong to a Nile crocodile.
The dogs over here. Yeah. See, this is a crocodile. and he's gone and disappeared into the water there. Crocodiles rarely leave the water's edge and the dogs naturally wary of deep water are unlikely to approach. Still, the team is relieved to have Mashambo. We'll soon learn what all these things are. The thing is the best though that um Mashambo has wild experience so he knows what a crocodile is. Yeah. He would have been taught what a crocodile is. With any luck, he can give you a good adviser to get a dog. I think the crocs aren't the team's biggest concern.
The main threat here is man is poaching. It was those four boats yesterday with eight people in them and some of them were up on the in this bush here. This bush. Yeah. So, they've maybe set snares. Poachers often set snares to catch antelope. But a curious dog can trigger them just as easily. And if a dog gets caught, many poachers will kill it simply to retrieve their trap. Jealous spots telltale signs that wire was wrapped around these branches. So they've removed the wire. Yeah. You can see the mark where the wire was in that branch.
Yeah. Other signs are less ominous. Few days old. This is since the dogs have been here. Yeah. Maybe that's why they put it there because of the dog. Yeah, I think they The abandoned camp is 3 or 4 days old. Jealous believes the intruders were just fishermen drying their catch. Putting snares back. Luckily, no snares are found. They were drying up their fish. For now, the biggest battles remain within the dogs themselves. They must learn to hunt.
Two weeks pass. The dogs are eating but not hunting. It's not looking very good at the moment. They clearly haven't figured out any hunting success or I don't even think they've tried yet. We have to keep providing them with food. if they're not providing, you know, providing for themselves, just to give them the time to adapt and recognizing that the water buck and impala are a food source and that they have to learn how to catch it. Although when they're eating like this, I don't think anything will put them off the loader. Yeah, his food that over the next few days, Peter and Jealous observe half-hearted attempts at hunting.
A few chases, but no strategy, no real commitment. for the dogs. A water buck is a daunting opponent. Impala flee, but waterbucks stand their ground. Arrow shows the first flashes of leadership, but the others hesitate. That's why they ignored those impalas over there. Can you see is it impala 4 or the big? Weeks drag by then a breakthrough. The dogs instinctively fan out, taking up basic hunting positions. Mashambo, the youngest and the only one with wild blood, leads the charge. For the first time, instinct and opportunity collide.
Good. I don't know much better now. Yeah. Adult impala still outrun them easily, but a young fawn offers a critical first lesson. Prey isn't just something to chase. It's food. Their first kill marks more than a meal. It's the first real step toward independence. On the path to survival, the pack has passed a milestone. But the real tests still lie ahead. November is coming and with it the rains. For the next few weeks, an observer will stay behind to monitor the dogs. The rest of the team returns to Hangi.
A new dog rescued from a snare needs urgent care. Peter and the vet need to check its leg. But to catch him safely, the team needs to drive the dog into a waiting net. Cover his head. That's it. Well done. There. Just cover his head. He's fine. Well done. Oh, well that worked. That's good. Wild animals under stress bite back. Keep pressure on him. Keep pressure on the Okay. Yeah, they're probably more susceptible to poaching, getting caught in snares than any other animal because they cover such big distances on any given day. I mean, they
can move 20 km, 25 km in a day hunting. So, their likelihood of them encountering a snare is very high. The vets's examination brings bittersweet news. An X-ray would show you exactly what's happening. But what I feel now is a fracture that's healed. It just hasn't healed perfectly. All right. The leg has healed, but not well enough for a life back in the wild. For some, survival means a second life in human care, like John and Angela.
She had a broken back and he had a broken back leg. So, we think they're not fit to go back into the world. We'll be using them to show kids when they come at the bush camp because some of them it will be their first time to see painted dogs and they're going to tell their parents about what they've seen here at the rehabilitation center and what they've been taught about the dogs. In their own way, Jon and Angela are helping to secure the future of their kind. While the team works to change people's minds, their island experiment continues. The painted dogs are becoming hunters.
Even if we hadn't seen the dogs eating this, we know it's a dog kill cuz the dog they don't eat the big bones like the legs. Even though these look quite small, the dogs they don't have the crushing like a hyena crushes the bones. The dogs don't do that. So you they always leave these legs Peter and Jealous need a closer look to assess the dog's health. Domesticated animals often associate people with food, but wild dogs should remain wary. a bit thin. See, he's still This one's a alpha male. Uaka stays distant. A promising sign. More good news. All five dogs look healthy, alert, and strong. That's the best I've seen them.
Yeah. And now in what? Four months. four months now. So, I think they've got over the hardest part now. Yeah, I think so. But in the wild, every victory is only temporary. Days later, disaster strikes. The lively female Notch is missing and so is the male Ulaka. Peter scans the island by air. Jealous sweeps the ground for collar signals. He finds Londalloza, Mashambo, and Arrow. No sign of the other two. Theories emerge. None of them good.
Peter suspects poachers. Jealous fears crocodiles. Hours into the search, a faint signal emerges, leading them to a small bay favored by crocs, but it's it's right in that bay there. So I think that pretty much confirmed that the craft is not had taken him. I picked up the signal, but no, it wasn't. It was It's definitely them in that bay. Two lives reclaimed from captivity. Both claimed once again by the wild. For the survivors, life on the island just became even harder. With their numbers half, Mashambo, Londalloza, and Arrow must now hunt like
a pack twice their size. Even three hunters could bring down a young water buck. But this prey has a backup plan. The waterbuck have got great anti- predator defenses cuz that's why they're called water buck is the second the dogs try to chase them they all run into the water. Their bad luck is only about to get worse. Starvation Island's natural moat, a 1,500 meter wide stretch of crocodileinfested water, was meant to keep the dogs safe. But against the odds, predators have crossed it. The team discover lion spore near the shoreline. And the local fishermen confirm the worst. Lions have made it onto the island. In a space this small, two top predators can't coexist without bloodshed.
The park service grants permission to dart and remove the lions. Tracks lead inland into the dense woods. The perfect place for an ambush. Backed by park rangers, the team is armed but nervous. Lions are dangerous and a sedative dart takes time to work. For added protection, they weave a barrier of thorny branches, something even lions hesitate to push through. To draw the big cats out, they use waterbuck as bait. Finally, a shape moves toward the clearing. But it's not a lion. The lions must have swam back across the water. For once, fortune seems to be on their side.
Two males, one female. Half the number that left Huangi. A fragile pack yet proof that the great experiment can work. Captive dogs can learn to live free. Once they're strong enough, the teen plans to transfer them to a bigger home in a protected national park. Starvation Island was never meant to be their final stop. It's a test and only those who pass can move on. For all intents and purposes, now they're in the wild and it's where they should be. So, it's just it's fantastic. Man, not lions or crocs, remains the greatest threat to Africa's painted dogs.
Yet, in all recorded history, no painted dog has ever been known to attack a human being. Yeah. There's something really good about being able to redress some of the damage done by human beings. The team's greatest challenge isn't training dogs. It's changing minds. Until then, Arrow, Londoza, and Mashambo have been given a second chance at freedom. And if they succeed, a future in the true wild
