Conservation Canines are the newest weapons in the fight to save endangered species around the world. The specially-trained dogs are helping conservation efforts in Africa, India, Polynesia, and other places to protect species in danger of becoming extinct, some even putting their lives on the line to do so.

Animals Saving Animals

Take the organization Animals Saving Animals (ASA), which operates across Africa, India, and Central America. The organization trains Belgian Malinois to help in the fight against poaching. Best of all, the organization gifts the dogs to conservancies and National Parks that need help with anti-poaching efforts.

Training dogs to help tackle poaching

With training facilities based in the U.K., the dogs train for a year before receiving tracking and operational training at the location where they will be serving.

By the time their training is complete, ASA dogs are ready to help prevent wildlife crime using their skills in the field.

And boy, do they put those skills to work.

“Although dogs are not a silver bullet in the fight against poaching, they are a huge security force multiplier,” founder of Animals Saving Animals, Daryll Pleasants, told BBC Earth.

The dogs receive training similar to a police dog

Receiving training akin to what a police K9 receives, ASA’s conservation canines can track where weapons have been fired, find evidence of poaching activities, and can track poachers through a variety of environments, both rural and urban, to bring them to justice.

Conservation Canines around the world

These specially-trained dogs are helping in conservation efforts in other ways as well.

This is mostly through using their tracking skills to locate endangered species in the field. This allows researchers to keep track of where species are currently located and allows for easy relocation if needed.

Conservation canines do this mainly through the detection of scat, more commonly known as poop, left behind by endangered animals. With their far superior sense of smell, dogs can track endangered species more easily than a human can and greatly speed up locating where they might be.

The dogs are well rewarded for their efforts

For their efforts, conservation canines receive their favorite treats or get to engage in a favorite activity, such as playing ball. And any breed can become a conservation dog, as long as they have a high energy drive and are enthusiastic.

The University of Washington

Universities are also getting in on the action, with the University of Washington housing a facility home to a team of specially trained sniffer dogs.

Their mission is to track orca poo, which floats on the ocean’s surface for only a short time. This allows scientists to better keep up with the health of the orca population.

“The whale team utilizes the wind and tide table to understand how the water is moving and the captain of the boat drives in transects perpendicular to the wind,” research scientist Jennifer Hartman said. “Meanwhile the handler and dog are on the bow and the handler directs the captain with minute adjustments to the transect based on the dog’s behavior.”

For more on the ASA’s conservation canines’ efforts in Africa, check out the video below!

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Sources: YouTube – Beastly, BBC Earth, University of Washington