IN this month’s Animal Magic column, Elijah Ford from All Things Wild, sheds light on a conservation project that the animal park supports in South America to help save bush dogs.
By Elijah Ford
One of the ways zoos work to protect our planet and its inhabitants is by partnering with conservation projects across the globe – and at All Things Wild, we are no different.
We support nine conservation projects across four continents, ranging from breeding endangered species for release into the wild to working with communities to improve their relationships with the wildlife around them.
One of these projects is Proyecto Zorro Pitoco, based in Misiones, Argentina.
Elijah Ford from All Things Wild. Picture by Marcus Mingins 4925007MMR1
Its work focuses on protecting a huge corridor of Atlantic Forest, one of the world’s last remaining cloud forests, for the animals and plants that call it home, specifically the bush dog, a species you can see at All Things Wild.
Bush dogs are small canines that look like a mix between a dog and a bear, and are known in parts of South America as ‘vinegar dogs’ because of their strong smell.
At All Things Wild, we have three ambassadors for the threatened species -Taco, Vigo and Rex, who are three young brothers that came to the zoo from the Netherlands. In the wild, they are pack hunters who work together to take down animals as large as a tapir.
Poachers from across South America travel to the forest to hunt a variety of animals, with poaching causing around a 40 per cent decline in wildlife found in the Atlantic Forest.
New signage all about Proyecto Zorro Pitoco. s
This is what led Proyecto Zorro Pitoco to create the Grupo de Operaciones en Selva (GOS), a group of armed rangers who carry out monthly patrols in the forest to monitor and disrupt poaching operations. They do this by confiscating equipment and handing offenders over to local authorities.
However, this is not the only way Proyecto Zorro Pitoco works to protect the forest. They are also aiming to create a Green Corridor – a safe haven for all species in the area.
To achieve this, they monitor a wide range of predator and prey species to understand where they can be found and how they move. This is done using sniffer dogs, which locate droppings from species such as the bush dog, providing the team with valuable data.
But where does All Things Wild come into this?
In 2025, we provided Proyecto Zorro Pitoco with $900 to create a series of educational leaflets, which were distributed to schools and local community groups to teach people about the work being done to protect the Atlantic Forest.
These leaflets also encourage locals to share information about any potential poaching activity in the area.
We also help raise awareness of their work by celebrating World Bush Dog Day every year on July 21.
Recently, we unveiled new interactive signage next to our bush dog enclosure, making the work of Proyecto Zorro Pitoco accessible to all visitors.
