Image: DingoDinkelman/Instagram
SA’s Steve Irwin: Dingo Dinkelman is building an animal kingdom in KZN
Dingo Dinkelman and his team will build a unique wildlife haven in order to care for some of the globe’s most endangered animals.
Image: DingoDinkelman/Instagram
South African YouTube sensation and conservationist, Dingo Dinkelman raised a staggering R750 000 in 42 days for wildlife conservation.
Dingo Dinkelman’s conservation project
According to Good Things Guy, Dinkelman is establishing Dingo’s Animal Kingdom, a safe haven in KZN’s Cato Ridge where people and animals can connect. This will also be a base for his team to work with experts in protecting some of the globe’s most endangered animals.
“With any great venture, there is financial pressure and our next few stages are particularly expensive. We’re fortunate to have worldwide support from people who care about conservation work,” explained Dingo. “With this in mind, I decided to offer the opportunity for our supporters to be part of this initiative and set a challenge to raise the funds.”
With the target reached, they are expected to break ground next year with an opening date around two years from now. The multi-functional facility will ultimately be a place for animals to roam free in their natural environment. Collaborating with other conservation institutions will be a base for demonstrations, training and research.
A celebratory moment
What’s more, with the R750 000 raised, an international investor committed a further $200 000 on the basis that the goal was achieved. Every sponsor who contributed $1 000 or more will also get a plaque installed at Dingo’s Animal Kingdom as an eternal reminder of their commitment to conservation.
“This was really a show of incredible support from people around the world. From the US, the UK, and even residents from South Africa, people were willing to donate their hard-earned cash during a period which has been proven to be one of the toughest economic times in recent years,” said Dingo. “Reaching this goal was a huge celebratory moment for us, and we will honour these donations by creating a five-star animal haven dedicated to the natural world.”
Breaking ground
Dingo is reportedly waiting for the Environmental Impact Assessment to be finalised and has been hard at work removing alien vegetation, fencing the land, creating firebreaks and has now embarked on an ambitious goal of planting over 1 000 indigenous trees over the course of the next few months.
Going viral
Dingo won the Cell C Break the Net YouTube competition and a Discovery Channel Filmmakers award which launched his filming career. He now runs one of the fastest-growing YouTube channels in South Africa, gathering more than 150 000 subscribers in less than a-year-and-a-half back in 2019. As of July 2021, he has 317 000 subscribers with 68 507 993 views overall.
