🐕 Trained dogs track poachers in Africa

• A British organization has sent 15 trained dogs to five African countries to combat poaching of rhinos and elephants.
• The dogs can track poachers at speeds up to 10 kilometers per hour, even in darkness.
• Some smaller nature reserves have almost completely eliminated poaching thanks to the deterrent effect of the dogs.

Dogs trained from two days old

In the Welsh town of Carmarthen, dogs are born and trained before being sent to southern Africa to help anti-poaching units protect endangered animals. The organization Dogs4Wildlife was founded in 2015 by dog trainers Darren Priddle and Jacqui Law after they saw images of a poached rhino on social media.

Since its founding, the organization has sent 15 dogs to five sub-Saharan countries, including Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Training begins when the puppies are just two days old. They are exposed to different scents, surfaces and temperatures to stimulate brain development. After approximately 16 to 18 months of training in obedience, tracking and scent detection, the dogs are ready for placement.

The most common breeds for tracking are Dutch shepherds and Belgian Malinois. For detecting rhino horn, ivory and bushmeat, labradors and spaniels are typically used.

Dog tracked poacher 4.5 kilometers

An example of the dogs' effectiveness comes from Zimbabwe. The Belgian Malinois Shinga tracked a poacher who had killed a warthog at Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservancy. The dog followed the poacher's route for 4.5 kilometers and led an anti-poaching unit directly to his home, resulting in an arrest.

Reilly Travers, park manager and head of anti-poaching at Imire, has witnessed the dogs' impact firsthand for seven years. The reserve has two dogs from Dogs4Wildlife: Shinga and the Dutch shepherd Murwi.

Travers says the dogs have saved staff on the ground on several occasions and have been responsible for apprehending a number of poachers.

The dogs can cover up to 10 kilometers per hour when tracking, even in darkness. This gives ranger units the ability to work effectively around the clock.

Deterrent effect reduces poaching

According to Priddle, word spreads quickly when a reserve acquires a specially trained dog. Anti-poaching units then gain the capability to catch poachers more efficiently.

Priddle states that some of the smaller nature reserves almost completely eliminate all poaching, solely due to the deterrent value the dogs provide.

At Imire, the dogs have contributed to a sharp reduction in poaching. Travers describes their impact as massive for the reserve's security.

Poaching remains a major problem

The KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa is a hotspot for poaching. Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park lost 307 rhinos to poaching in 2023, representing more than 60 percent of the country's losses according to the charity Save the Rhino.

The number of African rhinos poached annually has declined since the peak of over 1,300 animals in 2015. Despite this, nearly 600 rhinos were still killed last year.

Zimbabwe's rhino population dropped to below 450 animals in 1992 due to poaching. Thanks to conservation efforts, the population exceeded 1,000 individuals again in 2022. Imire contributed to this recovery and saw the birth of its 23rd rhino in 2023.

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