The dog heroes who are saving koalas from fires

    The dog heroes who are saving koalas from fires

    In Australia it is mainly dogs that save koalas from fires, without them these animals would be hopeless.

    Australian firefighters are showing great courage in these last months of devastation but they are not alone. Also dogs they are making an important contribution to the country because without them, many more koala of those who have not already been killed would have died in the flames.





    Hero dogs that are specially trained from numerous associations because no one better than them can smell koalas. Among them is TATE Animal Training Enterprises, which specializes in tracking dog services in Sydney, with a puppy team that has so far rescued dozens of koalas.

    One of their dogs, Taylor, 4, has recovered 8 since September. Her trainer Ryan Tate told ABC News:

    "His breed has been bred for hundreds of years to use their noses, to find small animals traditionally for hunters, but now we're somehow reversing that role and using them for conservation purposes."

    How does Taylor find Koalas? ? ? It’s difficult to get footage of her actually surveying burnt locations due to the dangerous nature of the area (and the fact that all our attention is focused on finding injured animals), so here is a set up to give an insight into how she searches and what she does when she finds what she is looking for!- She will prioritise finding live koalas and show a strong indication and sit when she detects one up a tree.- In the absence of live koalas or in high wind Taylor will drop directly in front of the freshest scats in the area.? Obedience is important!!In the video you will see Taylor’s ability to ignore other animals and focus on the task at hand. (Our flock of chickens is acting as wildlife today).- One long bip on the whistle = ‘SIT’.- Several short bips = ‘COME’- 2 short bips = change direction- ‘HEEL’ = walk beside me.The bumper Ryan throws out is also replicating something fast moving past her face and she should sit immediately unless asked to retrieve it. If at any stage she here’s the whistle on her way to retrieve the bumper, she needs to respond to the whistle.What does she get in return? A whole lot of praise, her favourite treats but above all else, a ball!! (Note for media enquires: a link to the full HD version of any of these clips can be sent out via email ryan@tateanimals.com)



    Posted by TATE Animal Training Enterprises on Friday, November 22, 2019

    How do they do it? Using the muzzle for sniffing koalas' fur in any circumstance, without being sidetracked by the smell of burnt trees. And this is their extraordinary strength. Trainers use the command "Koala, find!" to warn them of their mission and the search begins. And according to the trainers, if more dogs were trained to detect animals, thousands more koalas could be saved.

    Fortunately Tate is not the only association to do so, in Australia there are numerous similar organizations, just think of "Detection Dogs for Conservation" which trains dogs to recover koalas, one of which, named Bear, has even become a celebrity of the web and in the future it could become the protagonist of a film dedicated to its history.

    You might also like:


    • The heroic teenagers who rescue koalas on Kangaroo Island by loading them into their car
    • Australia: the moving video of a koala being rescued after the fires
    • Do koalas run out of hope? Fires in Australia have destroyed 80% of their habitat

    Photo Credit: Facebook


    add a comment of The dog heroes who are saving koalas from fires
    Comment sent successfully! We will review it in the next few hours.