Detector Dogs sniff out illegal ivory, help nab poacher in Tanzania

Two dogs — Jenny, a Belgian Malinois dog, and Dexter, an English springer spaniel — are members of a new team of specially trained dogs and handlers from Tanzanian National Parks (TANAPA), according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Following a tipoff, Jenny and her handler successfully detected four concealed elephant tusks hidden in plastic under a parked vehicle.
The tusks are small, TANAPA officials report, and have presumably come from “young elephants that had not even reached middle age”.

In a bust earlier this month, two detector dogs helped seize illegal ivory in a village outside Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park.

These dogs — Jenny, a Belgian Malinois dog, and Dexter, an English springer spaniel — are members of a new team of specially trained dogs and handlers from Tanzanian National Parks (TANAPA), according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Following a tipoff, Jenny and her handler examined a house in the village during a late night search, and successfully detected four concealed elephant tusks hidden in plastic under a parked vehicle.

The tusks are small, TANAPA officials report, and have presumably come from “young elephants that had not even reached middle age”. The ivory bust led to the arrest of one man, who is now reportedly assisting the Tanzanian authorities with their investigation.

“This ivory bust shows what a powerful tool the detection dog unit is,” WCS Project Director Aaron Nicholas said in a statement. “It adds to the government’s strategy to curb elephant poaching in Tanzania. Well done to the TANAPA handlers and staff and our four legged front-line friends.”

Detector dogs Jenny, left, a Belgian Malinois, and Dexter, an English springer spaniel, with Tanzanian authorties. Photo by Julie Larsen Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society.

The dogs and their handlers were rigorously trained for two years before being deployed. The project, supported by WCS and Wagtail UK, a dog training school based in Wales, involves building safe kennels for the dogs, ensuring that the dogs stay healthy in Ruaha environment, and equipping a rapidly deployable vehicle when authorities receive information on poaching.

“This arrest is a very clear warning to those wanting to poach elephants in the Ruaha-Rungwa landscape” Tim Davenport, WCS Country Director in Tanzania, said in the statement. “Jenny and Dexter are now on duty, and they will find you.”

Tanzania is an elephant poaching hotspot. According to government survey results published last year, elephant numbers in the country have declined by more than 60 percent between 2009 and 2014.