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ver the past few months my children have been watching the movie Back to the Outback on repeat. It’s the tale of some dangerous and “ugly” critters that escape from a zoo to return to The Outback. Crazy escapades (and a moral) follow, with macho zookeeper Chaz Hunt on their trail. When I was asked to interview Dingo Dinkelman, I was expecting a South African version of Chaz Hunt, dressed in khaki and full of bravado. Instead, I was greeted by a modern conservationist who has managed to use social media to support his passion – critter conservation. “In my opinion, conservation and the traditional view of conservation need to change. The traditional view is that you need to be dressed in khaki and in the middle of the bush, getting tick bite fever and bilharzia, to be a true conservationist. But we’re living in a digital age with smartphones and smart everything else and instant gratification, and the last thing that kids want is to be in the middle of the bush with all those massive monsters that want to eat them,” says Dingo. “Instead, I see conservation as creating a connection between people and animals. How are we going to stop rhino poaching or the trade in shark fins for soup? How are we going to stop people from killing African rock pythons for muti? You’re not going to stop it by regulating it because it’s already regulated and yet it carries on. The only way you’re going to stop it is by getting people to
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Dingo to the
RESCUE DINGO DINKELMAN MAY BE ALL OVER SOCIAL MEDIA FOR HIS DARING ESCAPADES WITH DANGEROUS ANIMALS, BUT CONSERVATION IS AT THE HEART OF HIS WORK, WRITES STEPHEN SMITH
fall in love with these animals. So if I can get people to build a connection with a snake or a crocodile, shark, lion, hippo, then they will value that animal more alive than they do dead. That’s when true conservation will happen.” As part of his conservation efforts, Dingo and his team are building Dingo’s Animal Kingdom in Cato Ridge, a conservation property dedicated to setting the standard of how animals should be kept. “It will be the base for where people will fall in love with animals,” says Dingo. “I want people to come and see animals in their natural environment – it won’t be a place with animals in small cages, so people won’t feel sorry for these animals.” Dingo’s Animal Kingdom will also perform a vital role in Dingo’s conservation efforts by raising money. “We’re involved in pangolin conservation and rhino
LEFT: Dingo is famous for his “dangerous” exploits – but he’s much more than an attention seeker.
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