{"id":188192,"date":"2021-05-06T20:50:48","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T18:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=102230"},"modified":"2021-05-06T20:50:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T18:50:48","slug":"south-african-conservation-crusader-drives-wildlife-projects-through-action-packed-youtube-channel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/south-african-conservation-crusader-drives-wildlife-projects-through-action-packed-youtube-channel\/","title":{"rendered":"South African conservation crusader drives wildlife projects through action-packed YouTube channel"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Having grown up exploring nature reserves during holidays and rehabilitating wildlife in his home, Pietermaritzburg-born Dingo Dinkelman established a close connection with the natural world that would impact his career path. Influenced by his father who worked for the (then) Natal Parks Board, Dingo has managed to drive conservation efforts by finding an innovative way to connect people to wildlife and fundraise \u2013 through the Dingo Dinkelman YouTube channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the important thing is connecting people, especially those without a prior connection, to animals,\u201d said the award-winning Discovery Channel wildlife presenter. \u201cWe don\u2019t want people living their lives never interacting with animals. I live a privileged life in that I get to see rhinos up close when we\u2019re de-horning or relocating them. I get to see what happens when you push the pad of a lion\u2019s paw or look into the face of a black mamba when it\u2019s gaping in front of you. I\u2019ve got to feel the strength of a crocodile, and hear the sound of a whale popping up right next to you. I want to take people into that world. I want to bring these animals into people\u2019s living room through the camera, so they can have these experiences and their hearts can be changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

YouTube videos that #BreakTheNet<\/p>\n

Having worked as an investment broker for years, Dingo maintained his connection to nature through short wildlife documentaries. But it was 2017 that became a turning point for Dingo and the world of conservation. Encouraged by friends, Dingo and his filming team entered the Cell C and Blink Pictures #BreakTheNet (#BTN) competition for which they shot a one-minute promo featuring Dingo catching a crocodile. Five videos and six weeks later, he won the competition which provided Dingo with the platform to launch his YouTube series which has racked up hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views worldwide.<\/p>\n

From safely removing puff adders, pythons and black mambas, to assisting in the dehorning of rhinos, relocating of hyenas and re-homing of trafficked pangolins \u2013 Dingo\u2019s YouTube channel has come to both astound and engage audiences of all ages across the globe, bringing them that much closer to the inhabitants of the natural world.<\/p>\n

With his dedicated film crew, editing team and his wife, Kirsty \u2013 who also takes on the vital role of self-appointed safety officer for Dingo \u2013 this has become one of the fastest-growing YouTube channels in the country. Dingo provides direction on the content, with the team coming together to create a variety of engaging series such as \u2018Venom vs Flesh\u2019 which looks at the impact of snake venom on flesh; as well as the popular \u2018In Search of\u2026\u2019 series that uncovers some of the country\u2019s most infamous animals.<\/p>\n

With no shortage of content in the African bush, the team is able to launch around three videos weekly, with series episodes featuring on Mondays and Fridays, and the live streaming experience on Wednesdays. The popularity of the show has seen it garner more than 350 000 subscribers with views growing steadily, averaging 3 million views monthly and an incredible 40 million views a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe black mamba and king cobra videos tend to attract a lot of attention,\u201d said Dingo. \u201cThe comparison between king cobras and black mambas is our most popular video to date, with more than 5 million views. However, we create a lot of videos focused on conservation, because that\u2019s at the heart of what we do. We want to make to make this a show that is entertaining for people, something that they want to watch, and this allows us to get the message of conservation through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Changing the fundraising model<\/p>\n

Dingo\u2019s team takes it a step further by innovatively fundraising for conservation causes while giving donors the opportunity to experience the impact their contribution is making through the YouTube channel: \u201cWhether it\u2019s raising money for the collaring of a lion, the relocating of hyena to prevent conflict with local famers, or dehorning rhino at the Zululand Rhino Orphanage, when people donate towards these causes, it\u2019s not just a general concept. With our videos, they get to actually witness the animal that they\u2019re helping through their donation. It\u2019s another way for people to truly connect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through Dingo Dinkelman\u2019s YouTube channel, conservation efforts are being rewarded, and mindsets towards wildlife being changed: \u201cOne of the most common responses we\u2019ve received through our videos is people saying: \u2018I was scared of animals, until I started watching these videos, and now I respect them\u2019. They might not want to have these animals \u2013 such as snakes \u2013 in their homes or as their pets, but they respect them and their importance in the natural world. So now, rather than be indifferent or actively killing them, people will call someone to rescue them. This is a massive achievement for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss out on any of Dingo Dinkelman\u2019s adventures with the next excursion \u2018In Search of the Killer Lions of Mkhuze\u2019. Follow him on Facebook at @dingodinkelman, on Instagram at Dingo Dinkelman, catch his videos on YouTube at Dingo Dinkelman, or visit www.dingowild.com for more information.<\/p>\n

Check out some recent videos here:<\/p>\n

Pangolin relocation: https:\/\/youtu.be\/Vwaw4WckBaE
Orphan rhino: https:\/\/youtu.be\/X6zIZRytdbo
Black mamba: https:\/\/youtu.be\/IFLXNJjB9kI<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pages: Page <\/span>1<\/span> Page <\/span>2<\/a><\/div>\n

Source: MyPR.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having grown up exploring nature reserves during holidays and rehabilitating wildlife in his home, Pietermaritzburg-born Dingo Dinkelman established a close connection with the natural world that would impact his career path. Influenced by his father who worked for the (then) Natal Parks Board, Dingo has managed to drive conservation efforts by finding an innovative way […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":188193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9021],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-188192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mypr","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/south-african-conservation-crusader-drives-wildlife-projects-through-action-packed-youtube-channel.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}