Called by the Wild: The Dogs Trained to Protect Wildlife

An epic of modern-day African wildlife conservation, filled with courage, adventure and romance.

Conraad de Rosner is a pioneering game ranger, working with dogs to protect wildlife against poachers - both ’bushmeat’ poachers, who use cruel snares to trap animals, and criminal syndicates killing for rhinoceros horn and capturing critically endangered pangolins, the most trafficked animal in the world.

Con’s life - constantly at risk from poachers, wildlife and even his own fellow rangers - has been saved on numerous occasions by his devoted canine companions. His first dog, Zingela, a Weimaraner, saved Con from near certain death at the hands of two fellow rangers; on another occasion, Zingela alerted Con to a concealed wounded buffalo, one of Africa’s most dangerous animals, about to charge.

When Zingela was tragically killed, hit by a car while Con was away, the only meagre consolation was that Con had kept Landa, one of the nine puppies sired by Zingela. Landa followed in his father’s footsteps as the leader of the canine anti-poaching team that is still operating today.

Conraad de Rosner was born and schooled in Gqeberha, then Port Elizabeth, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. He studied nature conservation in Pretoria before starting work, in 1993, at Windy Ridge Game Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2009, he was appointed assistant anti-poaching manager at Sabi-Sands game reserve. In 2011, he formed his company, K9 Conservation, at Thanda Game Reserve. In 2015, he moved to his base training farm in Hoedspruit, where for the past six years and more, he has developed and expanded his training of rangers and dogs.