Wildlife's BFF are Dogs

Photo by Scott Ramsey, courtesy of Grumeti Fund

Photo by Scott Ramsey, courtesy of Grumeti Fund

And we thought dogs were just a human's best friend. When it comes to African wildlife, canine units are often their BFFs. This is a title we are happy to concede as these dogs are never happier than when helping sniff out illegal wildlife products and tracking down nefarious poachers. These are highly trained animals that start with the basics in behavioral training, but then go just a tad beyond the rudimentary “Sit. Stay. Fetch.

Detection - The Nose Knows

Despite recent revolutionary policies restricting wildlife trade in some of the historically largest markets, poaching and the illicit trade of ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales, and even hippo teeth(!) are still flourishing. Seizures of these items sadly continue. Thankfully, contraband sniffing dogs are helping break the trafficking transport chains.

Did you know that it only takes 10-12 seconds for one dog to inspect a vehicle and signal to their handler where the contraband is concealed? They are often positioned at key border points to intercept traffickers coming out of the bush and at airports. Yet poachers are smart and try to find new exit points, but when they bob, the canine units and their handlers weave, growing the range of their patrol coverage and improving their scent-identification skills to discern everthing from specific species to illegal firearms.

Canine units, when integrated into a protected area’s anti-poaching program, are known to decrease incidents over 50%. Used as deterrents, they patrol along perimeters and work with neighboring parks. Agencies and governments are also creating joint tasks forces and collaborating to develop strategies specifically for canine units. That sharing of experience and knowledge will exponentially increase their effectiveness, which is why Endangered Rangers will be using monies raised specifically to go towards adding these vital resources to the Wild is Life protected area.

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Tracking in Action

Canine units with their nifty noses are also key in criminal justice. They track down poachers as well as animals. Dogs are faster than and can traverse often uncompromising terrain better than humans. Thus, when an incident occurs these animals can chase down and secure poachers that perhaps could have eluded human trackers. Or if not faster, more stubborn in all the best ways to search until finding their targets.

Is there a best breed for K9 units? According to experts, there are a variety which have found success for these heroic duties - German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Black and Tan and Bluetick Coonhounds, and Beagles! Some sniff their way to success, others are more inclined to perform ‘bite work’ as it’s called to detain their prey.

While some dogs are trained from birth for this purpose, others are welcomed into this profession. There are dedicated expert training facilities worldwide that provide dogs and training. But our favorite story is close to home where in our Endangered Rangers family, the Grumeti fund, their already functioning canine unit is made up of rescue dogs! These rescues were saved from the United States and received training to apprehend poachers in Africa. They saved domestic animal lives to save wild lives…chills.

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Photo by Scott Ramsey, courtesy of Grumeti Fund

Canine Care

It is important to not only train these beautiful animals, but to care for them and their handlers.

• Healthy squads are effective squads. These dogs need to maintain healthy nutritional diets and receive regular veterinary care and vaccines. And in the unfortunate occasion when injury occurs, it’s vital to have the services and treatment for them readily available.
  
  
• Handlers require specialized training in addition to their already challenging ranger education to keep their detection skills up to snuff. In addition, we all know the special bond between handler and their canine partners, as we see this around the world between law enforcement and their dogs AND between woman/man/child and their dogs. Because of this unique connection, it is also very important to provide therapeutic instruction to the canine handlers to keep them motivated for this extra layer of emotional responsibility.
  
  
• Oh, and they need toys too.

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Please join us on Sunday, December 13th as during the show we will bring you more stories on how we employ these canine companions and the impact they have on diminishing the threat of poaching. ​

Sources: The Times UK. “A Rhino’s Best Friend: Dogs are Trained to Hunt Poachers in South Africa”. May 16, 2020; Bored Panda “Dogs Trained To Protect Wildlife Save 45 Rhinos From Poachers”. May 2020;  UNODC, World Wildlife Crime Report 2020, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2020.