A South African dog training facility is currently teaching 200 dogs and their handlers how to jump out of helicopters to quickly capture poachers who are illegally hunting game in Kruger National Park.
The aim is to eventually have a system in place that enables the authorities to capture poachers before they've had the opportunity to escape – which is the biggest problem for anti-poaching groups. In order to combat poachers, they have to constantly fly over large areas to try to catch them in the act.
Poaching is a huge problem in most African countries. In fact, it is estimated that a rhino is killed every 6 hours on the continent for their ivory horns – which are often sold in Asia for a considerable amount of money. As a result, most species of rhino are now on the brink of extinction.
At the moment, there isn’t a very effective way for governments, conservationists or wildlife protection agencies to stop poachers, who can quickly move across a border or disappear into the vast bush before anyone can catch up with them. This problem is compounded by the fact that the areas these poachers are hunting in are massive. For example, Kruger National Park, where the dogs will be used, is a whopping 7,500 square miles (19,425 square kilometers). This makes it virtually impossible to find and capture poachers from the ground.
So far, researchers and conservationists have tried drones, human guards, horn cameras, and even the possibility of relocating endangered animals to places like Australia in an attempt to save their species. However, despite all this innovative effort, poaching still continues.
Therefore, something else needed to be tried, and this is where the skydiving dogs come in. These dogs can get to the ground quickly, sniff out any poachers who might be hiding, and capture them a lot faster than a human could dream of.
While dogs have been used for field tasks before, such as sniffing out bombs or finding survivors trapped in rubble, this program represents the first time that dogs will be trained to jump out of helicopters. The school isn’t sure whether these dogs will experience adrenaline rushes like a human skydiver would, but they seem to enjoy it as their tails start to wag as soon as they hear the helicopter. They seem to find it exciting.
Furthermore, other dogs will be trained to sniff out elephant ivory, ammunition, and explosives, and will have a regular patrol route where they will be able to point out any suspicious changes.
All of the dogs are bred and trained at this facility. Early on in their training, they are paired up with park rangers and other wildlife authorities so that they can form a strong bond for life. Obviously, only time will tell how effective this new method is in decreasing poaching rates, but we certainly hope it works.
Check out the video below of a parachuting dog in action:
Source: sciencealert
Photos from depositphotos
