Conservation dogs are working dogs that are trained to assist humans in their efforts to protect wildlife.
Using their superior sniffers, these dogs can identify invasive species, spot contaminants in a community or ecosystem, or even fight wildlife trafficking by detecting ammunition, snares, or rhino horns.
These dogs are heroic frontline workers representing the best of the animal kingdom — but they all have to start somewhere.
For the anti-poaching team at Dogs 4 Wildlife, that “somewhere” is the Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
Last week, Fudge (a 2-year-old cocker spaniel) and Rocket (a 15-month-old fox red Labrador) went on a little training field trip to the UK-based zoo to practice ahead of their deployment to Southern Africa.
The dogs were joined by Darren Priddle and Jacqui Law, founders and directors of Dogs 4 Wildlife. Their work consists of training highly skilled dogs to join anti-poaching canine units that protect endangered species all across Southern Africa.
Bringing the pups to Yorkshire Wildlife Park is key to their training, as they are able to familiarize themselves with animals like leopards, tigers, rhinos, giraffes, and zebras — the same species they’ll be protecting in the field.
(The dogs also met polar bears, though they likely won’t encounter those particular furry friends again in the wild.)
“Being able to desensitize our conservation dogs to the sights, sounds, and smells of some of the wildlife they will go on to protect and conserve is vital to their effective development,” Priddle said in a statement.
Once they complete their training, Rocket and Fudge will join a team of 15 other canines working in wildlife areas in countries like Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Rwanda, and Gabon.
There, they will serve alongside rangers to protect these newly befriended species from poachers.
Rocket is also training to become a detection dog, meaning he will be gainfully employed at airports and border checkpoints to sniff out rhino horn or animal skins from criminal traffickers.
While poaching is certainly not the only contributor to biodiversity loss, it is a major crisis in Southern Africa. Last year alone, national government agencies counted approximately 499 rhino poachings across Africa — more than double than the year before.
These dogs — who boast the ability to reduce poaching incidents by as much as 75% — are needed more than ever.
And the role of local organizations like the Yorkshire zoo makes their success possible.
“Yorkshire Wildlife Park puts conservation at the heart of all its activities, working with the Wildlife Foundation, the charity based at the park,” director Neville Williams said in a statement.
“It was really exciting to meet the dogs and hear about their future role helping conservation — every little gain in the fight for conservation is a step forward.”
While Rocket and Fudge are likely just eager to be along for the ride, Priddle and Law are grateful for every ounce of support for their training.
“We are extremely grateful to Yorkshire Wildlife Park for allowing our incredible dogs access to what is an amazing and diverse environment,” Piddle said.
“Working collaboratively to help safeguard the planet’s wildlife and educate our children to the value of our planet’s natural environments is the key to a sustainable future.”
Header image courtesy of Yorkshire Wildlife Park
