On March 28, 2007, UK artist Pollyanna Pickering and her daughter/manager Anna-Louise Pickering departed for Bhutan sketch and paint the rare flora and fauna of this largely undisturbed region of the Himalayas.
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Pollyanna PickeringHonMUniv NDD AFC SOFA Painter of the Living World
Pollyanna Pickering Foundation funds sanctuary for Painted Dogs in Namibia
Pollyanna has visited one of the major conservation projects funded by the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation. In 2011 the Foundation paid £8,700.00 – the equivalent of $94,0000.00 Namibian dollars - to build a huge enclosure – over 8 hectares - (above) at the N/a’an ku sê Wildlife Sanctuary in Namibia. Building the enclosure ensured the safe and secure growth and development of 14 orphaned painted dog pups - which would otherwise have faced certain death - and will eventually allow their re-introduction into former areas of residence such as Etosha National Park.
Pollyanna said “ it was fantastic to see that the wild dog puppies now that they have grown into beautiful juvenile dogs, and to have the opportunity to talk to the wildlife biologists whose research and work with them has become vital in the conservation of the species in Namibia.” Following extreme persecution of the species there are only between 200 & 400 wild dogs remaining in Namibia so this litter represents approximately 3% of the entire population.
The biologists are currently identifying potential release sites for the dogs, as well as a suitable re-introduction programme which will incorporate matching these currently captive animals with free-ranging wild dogs in a process known as adoption. They are working closely with the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism and several other organisations in order to take this project forward. Pollyanna was fascinated to learn more about how a team from N/a’an ku se have visited the Mangetti area in north-eastern Namibia to assess the problems free-ranging wild dogs face in this region and how the researchers are helping local livestock farmers to mitigate conflict and thus reduce the motivation to persecute wild dogs in the future.
The Pollyanna Pickering Foundation is proud to have worked with N/a’an ku se on this vital conservation project. The Wildlife Sanctuary is situated on a 3,200 hectare reserve providing a safe haven for various orphaned and injured African wildlife. They strongly believe the wild belongs in the wild and direct all their efforts towards long term rehabilitation. Pollyanna did of course make the most of the opportunity to sketch all the other residents of the sanctuary, including cheetahs Kiki and Lucky as well as Caracal Lynx, Lions, Baboons and wild giraffes and jackals.
