Local conservationist collaborates with US counterparts
The month-long US tour will include several stops at wildlife centres, meet-and-greets, podcasts, and other engagements that give YouTube followers and audiences some wildlife content.
South Africa’s own Steve Irwin, Dingo Dinkelman has embarked on an international information-sharing expedition as he tours the United States of America, engaging with other world-renowned conservationists.
The month-long US tour will include several stops at wildlife centres, meet-and-greets, podcasts, and other engagements that give YouTube followers and audiences some wildlife content.
Starting in New York, Dinkelman headed to Michigan where he met up with American YouTuber and vlogger, Brian Barczyk. His wildlife antics on SnakeBytesTV, AnimalBytesTV, and Discovery channel’s series Venom Hunters have seen him gain more than 3.5 million subscribers.
Barczyk and Dinkelman met up for a live podcast on Saturday, following some exciting filming and a meet-and-greet with fans which sold out in a whopping 15 minutes. The engagement was hosted at Barczyk’s Reptarium, home to an interesting variety of reptiles.
This week, Dinkelman met up with another friend in conservation, Kevin McCurley, the owner and founder of NERD (New England Reptile Distributors) who has a YouTube following of some 300 000 people. The organisation grew out of McCurely’s passion for reptiles and his own personal collection, becoming one of the largest reptile breeders in America’s Northeast.
After filming with McCurley, Dinkelman will head to Miami for a week to check out facilities and learn more about crocodilian behavioural work. Then it’s on to Chandler’s Wildlife north of Miami, founded by Chandler Kamenesh whose show has 1.6 million subscribers.
Thereafter, it’s a visit to Gatorland in Orlando, the alligator capital of the world. This is home to forerunners in crocodile research, with work extending to places like Cuba and Jamaica. Finally, Dinkelman will stop in at Disney’s Animal Kingdom which is a celebration of all living things.
“This is such a great opportunity to learn about the latest techniques in animal behaviourism while engaging with our international audience. We are really using this platform to interact with existing followers and introduce new people to the natural world,” said Dinkelman.
.
