It’s 2020, and we still have yet to find a way to put an end to poaching. Not only does poaching involve stealing the life of an innocent animal, but it is done with selfish intentions, such as for the retrieval of expensive pelts or tusks. Not to mention, poaching can seriously threaten wildlife species that are endangered or vulnerable.
Although it may take a while for us to get a good grip on the end of poaching, one dog pack has already been playing their part in it. And in total, the pack has saved approximately 45 rhinos from poachers.
“The data we collect for this applied learning project aimed at informing best practice, shows we have prevented approximately 45 rhino being killed since the free tracking dogs became operational in February 2018,” Johan van Staaten, K9 master of the Southern African Wildlife College in Greater Kruger National Park, reiterated.
Statistics show that with the addition of the Wildlife College’s dog pack, their success in taking down poaching is significantly higher.
“In the areas where the Southern African Wildlife College patrol, the success rate of the dogs is around 68 percent using both on and off-leash free tracking dogs, compared to between three to five percent with no canine capacity,” van Staaten continued. “The game-changer has been the free tracking dogs who are able to track at speeds much faster than a human can in terrain where the best human trackers would lose spoor.
Right now, the pack is focusing on saving the rhino population since multiple species of rhino are currently classified as critically endangered. Yet, poachers are still targeting them.
“As such, the project is helping ensure the survival of southern Africa’s rich biodiversity and its wildlife including its rhino which have been severely impacted by wildlife crime. South Africa holds nearly 80 percent of the world’s rhino,” van Staaten said. “Over the past decade over 8,000 rhinos have been lost to poaching making it the country hardest hit by this poaching onslaught.”
But it’s all thanks to these amazing dogs that ensures as many rhinos are saved as possible. This helps slow down their eventual extinction and will hopefully give them time to continue to breed so that their numbers can top the number of rhinos that are becoming victims of poaching.
What helps the dogs prepare for this big task? Well, the canines, which consist of Foxhounds, Belgian Malinois, Blue Ticks, and Texan Black-and-Tan Coonhounds, start their training while very young. From early on in life, the pups are taught how to “track, bay at a person in a tree and follow basic obedience.”
Then by the age of six months, the dogs are considered formally trained, although are still too immature to engage in real operations. However, by they reach 18 months, they’re normally ready.
This is awesome! Learn more about how the pack is trained to fight against poachers by watching the video.
