Interview with Greg Rasmussen

When Greg's microlight plane crashed in the African savannah, he had to survive the heat and avoid predators, with two broken legs.

Occupation: Wildlife conservation biologist

Do you feel it was largely your mental attitude that allowed you to survive the crash?

Well, yes. But I had to be in pretty good health. The surgeon told me that had I been a smoker, or had anything compromised my oxygen metabolism, I might not have made it. Also, I needed to have enough knowledge. Had I not been a biologist in the first place I might not have done the right things. But given those two criteria, I think mental attitude was a tipping point. When I was at the crash site I had to consciously look for excuses to stay alive. I felt I had already had a fulfilled life and I had achieved in conservation but I felt I could do more.

How long did it take you to recover?

Recovery was a really long road. I sometimes wonder what was worse – the crash or the recovery. It put me into another world of struggling, fighting to walk and the world of disability.

The people at the St Giles Rehabilitation Centre in Zimbabwe, which in itself is a charity, were fantastic. When I first crashed they told me I might be up and about within about a month, and they held back on telling me the grim reality that the chances of my walking again were only about 50:50. These things helped me stay positive. Also, the centre had a policy of getting patients together so we could compare notes which was psychologically very good.

Hydrotherapy was a big part of the treatment regime, after being pinned to a bed for so long it's wonderful to experience the freedom of water. I felt dizzy when I first went into the pool because I hadn't been upright for so long.

Anyway, I was on crutches by four and half months, and I was hobbling about after another four or five months. But then I got a bone infection which set me back. It was a good two years before I began to feel like my old self again mentally. It's been a journey.

Has the experience changed you? How?

I have learnt the power of good friends and who they are. This was the biggest single topic of discussion amongst the patients at the rehab centre in Zimbabwe. And I have understood a lot about disability. I also know what I live for.

How soon did you go back into the bush?

I went back into the field about eight or nine months after the crash, under the close supervision of Peter Blinston and the project manager at the dog conservation project! It was psychologically really important for me to do this. After all this was my reason for living.

Do you still pilot planes?

I have been in planes and in light aircraft and I have co-piloted a glider. But I don't think I would, or indeed anyone would let me, fly solo again. I can't afford another accident.

What got you involved in conservation?

As a child I was something of a wildlife geek. My mother had wanderlust and my father was willing to go along for the ride. And so I got to spend some of my childhood in Zimbabwe where I could learn about wildlife. In my late teens I wanted to travel the world and so I joined the British Merchant Navy – it was great fun for a few years.

In my mid-20s the itch to work with wildlife bubbled up again. I worked at Howletts Zoo in the UK for a while, but didn't really find working with captive animals was meant for me. Then at quite a low point in life I received an offer from an old friend and childhood mentor in Zimbabwe to join a field trip collecting data on reptiles. Here was the opportunity I needed. I closed as many doors in the UK as I could and I got on a plane three weeks later. I bought a ticket for a year. And I never looked back. After finishing the reptile project, I met someone who was setting up a research project on painted dogs. He needed a project manager experienced enough to collect data in the field. That was it, I fell in love with the dogs.

Why painted dogs?

I hate any kind of prejudice especially when it leads to persecution. And the dogs suffer from this badly. As with the wolf, there is an irrational hatred of the dogs amongst many farmers in Africa who shoot them on site. Even though I found on analysis that the dogs are responsible for only 1.7% of the total losses that farmers incur.

Of the first three packs I studied, the first crumbled when the alpha male was killed by a car; the second was decimated when 20 out of 24 members of the pack were shot by a farmer and most of the third pack were killed in snares and used for traditional medicine. So, you get the picture – painted dogs are the underdogs and there is something special about suppporting one at the bottom of the pile. Personally, I felt that I could make a difference, I was a round peg in a round hole.

I virtually lived with the dogs for two years to get to know everything I could about them – their behaviour, their social systems and how they live. This is the only way to help.

How has the painted dog project grown?

In the early days money was really scarce. There were times when I had to decide, do I fill the Land Rover with diesel or do I eat tonight? I became known for eating beans because they were cheap to buy and a good source of protein.

I had a breakthrough when British Airways donated an air ticket to me so that I could travel to the UK to raise funds. I knocked on the door of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation first and they gave me a small grant. Once they saw the money was well spent they gave more. This was where the project began to take off.

Now the painted dog project includes a rehabilitation centre where we are able to house injured dogs until they're fixed up and well enough not to be a burden on their pack. Or we treat dogs in the wild if it's feasible to leave them with their pack. We have even had some success in reintroducing orphans to the wild. In the time that I've been working with them, the painted dog population of Zimbabwe has doubled.

While I was recovering, the project was in the process of building one of my dreams – a bush camp for local children who live around the perimeters of the park, but who rarely get to see the wildlife in it. The kids love it. We are able to take 1000 children a year for a week each and show them their natural world. Many of the eco-tourism projects that are so popular in Africa at the moment exclude locals, which makes the parks the province of tourists and hunters alone.

The dogs are at the centre of our project, but we have a holistic approach to conservation: it's the only way. So we are involved in adult education, anti-poaching activities, we have 50 employees from local communities and we raise awareness of conservation in general.

What suggestions do you have for others who might want to get involved in African conservation?

Somewhere there is a hat for everyone that wants to help conservation whether it is simply creating awareness or being involved with a support group. I have a lot of involvement with schools and my message for kids is always that you must have dreams and you mustn't be afraid to follow them. Dreams are like rocket fuel that propel you forward and in my case kept me alive.

Find out more about the painted dog project – www.painteddog.org

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