A calling for the wild to fight poaching scourge

Called by the Wild

The Dogs Trained To Protect Wildlife (Paperback) Conraad de Rosner with Graham Spence, Elaine Bell

JONATHAN BALL

Reviews: Orielle Berry

THE book is described as a thrilling story of a pioneering conservationist who worked with dogs to protect the environment he found himself in. That it is indeed.

The author – an astute writer – recounts his days on expansive tracts of land – game reserves, where wildlife is allowed to roam free, except that poachers are rife, capturing and/or killing the beautiful beasts for their meat, rhinos for their horn and highly endangered species such as pangolin – trafficking them in the East.

Even some of the rangers on the reserves that Con worked on turned coat to become poachers and Con had two fights on his hands to protect the wild animals – from his fellow workers whom he thought he knew and trusted to the equally ruthless enemy – desperate individuals who snared or killed vulnerable animals. Dogs were key to sniffing out poachers and Con writes with a particular love and respect about his beloved dog, Zingela.

Landa was one of nine puppies sired by Zindela, and is leader of an anti-poaching team, still operating today.

Con writes with warmth and poignancy about growing up with a deep love of the bush and his sterling work both at Bongani Lodge in Mpumalanga and other sanctuaries where he felt most at home protecting his beloved wildlife and tracking, and also extensively recording and researching San rock art.

The book will make you smile but also shed tears as reading about the scourge of poaching that exists in many reserves across the country still requires a sense of deep courage and steely determination by conservationists to keep poachers at bay.