Dog Tracking Units to Fight Poaching

Prized for their magnificent ivory tusks, elephant populations across much of Africa and Asia have dropped by 62% over the last decade due to the insatiable lust for Ivory products in the Asian market. Despite the international ban on ivory trading, the price of ivory in China has tripled, making the illegal trade of ivory extremely profitable.

In an attempt to combat the rise in poaching, Big Life in Tanzania and Kenya have come up with an innovative and highly effective approach to add to their arsenal in the battle against poachers, A Tracking Dog Unit. Using trained tacking dogs and their uncanny sniffing ability, Big Life have had much success in tracking poachers since the introduction of the unit in 2011. After adopting four Alsatians, Max, Jazz, Rocky and Jerry from kennels in the Netherlands the dogs were transported to Canine Specialist Services International (CSSI) In Tanzania. Under the guide of Will Powell they underwent an intense eight months training, learning to pick up and follow the scent of humans from footprints or materials left behind at the scene. But the training did not stop there, it’s an ongoing process, both at the kennels and in the field. It includes tasks designed to keep the dogs focused on a particular scent and to differentiate one track from another.

Dogs can track a trail from a kill site up to a day past the event, often leading their handlers straight to the poacher’s door. “Our dogs have tracked elephant poachers for up to eight hours at a time or more, through extreme conditions – heat, rain, wetlands, and mountains – and still turned up results” says Damien Bell, director of Big Life Tracker Dog Unit. The dogs and their incredible tracking abilities have created a reputation for themselves in the community. In fact, dog teams have become so popular that Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), the wildlife division, the police and even the military have requested their assistance. Their reputation has also spread amongst poachers with the Masaai being particularly terrified of tracker dogs, regarding their tacking abilities as supernatural.

In Southern Africa, K-9 unit in the Kruger National Park has also employed dog tracking units using two breeds of dogs, Belgian Malinois and Weimarana in their fight against poaching. Malinois are used exclusively for tracking human suspects, to detect firearms and bullet casings and to restrain suspects when it requires force. Weimarana’s, on the other hand are used mostly for tracking animals, detecting animal remains and snares and to locate wounded animals.

Poachers are becoming more and more skilful at evading capture. Stopping them is the ultimate objective, but it often comes down to the chase. With the aid of Big Life and K-9 dog tracking units the tracking and arrest of poachers is becoming less difficult. It’s not often man’s best friend can come to the aid of the world’s largest land based mammal but this unlikely relationship may be just what is needed to fight the war against poaching.