Did you know that dogs are crucial contributors to anti-poaching? Sean van Niekerk, an experienced ranger, shared some of his stories and experiences working alongside dogs in an anti-poaching unit.
Their Work
Sean was a part of a team who minimized the poaching of rhinos in Mozambique, and that of elephants in Limpopo areas. They would spend long days – and nights – tracking poachers causing harm to wildlife and risking the conservation of these animals. In their efforts to protect these animals, they brought in crucial team members – dogs.
What Dogs Do They Use?
Sean and his team used Doberman-Bloodhoud crosses in their operation. These dogs had incredible tracking ability from their Bloodhound genes and agility from their Doberman side. Making them a crucial part of the APU’s early detection and quick reaction strategy.
How Do The Dogs Help?
With their incredible sense of smell, of course! The dogs give the team a bearing on the direction of the poachers by following their scent. This often means the dogs follow their noses instead of the physical tracks left behind. One of the dogs, Fury, could track poachers for over 12 miles on the scent they left behind over 17 hours ago!
What Difference Does It Make?
These highly trained dogs will also detect a change in the poachers’ direction before the physical track changes, making the tracking process much quicker and more effective. Helping the team greatly as time is crucial to minimize the damage caused by the poachers.
Dangerous Work
It is no secret that the work of an APU is dangerous. On one of their tracking missions, Sean and his team tracked poachers in the area. With Fury at the front, of course. Suddenly Fury came to a halt – the tracks still stretching forward – focussing his attention to their right.
Life-Saving Moment
The team could still see the tracks going forward when Fury’s handler told them that the poachers were right there. It came to light that the poachers looped around, and was waiting for the APU team to go past to attack them from the back. Luckily the understanding between the handler and the dog was incredible. If they had kept on visually tacking they could have carried on, but luckily Fury warned them and they could successfully apprehend the poachers.
Listen To The Podcast Here
Crucial Anti-Poachers – Dogs!
This article is just a glimpse into how these dogs help the anti-poaching teams in their conservation and protection work. From quickly tracking poachers to protecting their team, these dogs make fantastic assets to the team! Listen to our podcast with Sean for more!
Have a look at our other conservation articles here, or you might enjoy these articles too:
- Anti-Poaching Insights From A Game Ranger
- A South African Safari Must – Crossing Lodges in the UNESCO Waterberg Biosphere
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