Dogs lead the war against poaching


Published on 31/10/2009
By Leonard Korir

When there are grunts or growls from a wild animal at the park, it often signals poachers have pounced.

Swiftly, game rangers move into action to rescue an ensnared animal, resuscitate a dying one, or pick a carcass.

Traditionally, the rangers respond to the distress by brandishing guns and other weapons.


Sometimes, they are too late to catch up with the treacherous hunters who easily get away with their prey, having mastered the terrain.

But the anti-poaching war has moved a notch higher at the Mara Triangle thanks to introduction of anti-poaching bloodhound dogs.

Chief warden, Samson Lenjirr at the Mara Conservancy says they have bought two dogs.

The first two 11-months-old male bloodhounds nicknamed, ‘Memusi’ and ‘Moran’ have begun their duty at their new station in Enkiro Enkare of Masai Mara near the Tanzanian border.

Imported from Colorado, US, in June, the dogs have been trained to trail poachers.

Lenjirr says eight tracker dog handlers recruited by the conservancy have concluded a two-month training on how to handle these special dogs.

The handlers team leader Shadrack Sabaya says they are now well equipped with the necessary skills. He says the dogs helped them arrest four poachers last month near the Tanzanian border, with their snares and some game meat.

However, Sabaya says there are challenges in managing crime scenes due to contamination of elements, such as footprints and scent.

He says people at the reserve are yet to be taught on the need to keep off crime scenes to avoid contamination.

Tracking abilities

He says the fresher the scent particle, the easier the trailing.

"The durability of the scent depends on the nature of the surrounding and terrain. For sure outcome, a trail must be done not later than 12 hours from the time the suspect leaves the scene," says Sabaya

Lenjirr believes the presence of such dogs would mitigate cases of poaching and robbery within the game reserve.

When ‘Memusi’ and ‘Moran’ arrived, their instructor John Lutenberg, who owns and heads training at Canine Training Academy for dogs in Colorado, accompanied them.

Lutenberg, with his colleague, Linda Porter, took the local handlers through a two-month training.

He has over 35-years experience training trailing dogs and teaching visual techniques.

He has assisted local, state and federal law enforcement agencies around the United States tracking fugitives, escaped prisoners, criminals and lost people.

How the dogs work

He is employed with the Colorado Department of Corrections Criminal Investigations and K-9 division, but also runs the training academy.

Guided by the element of scent, Lutenberg says the breed can successfully follow trails over 100 hours old.

He says any handler must be physically fit as it becomes hard to redirect the dogs’ attention once they have caught a scent.

"They flee when they get on a scent, instinct drives them to find the end of the trail," says Lutenberg.

When the breed wags its tail several times, it indicates the subject is near. But, if it raises its head, it tells the handler there is no scent hence the mission should be aborted.

The dogs’ long muzzle, drooping ears and loose wrinkled skin give them a rather mournful expression.

The folds of the skin are said to aid in holding scent particles while its powerful shoulders allow it to work for long hours, without a break.

Famed breed

The breed has been commended as sure trackers and continues to be used in some countries for rescue, and criminal searches.

The bloodhound’s evidence is admissible in a court of law, as they are accurate in their search.

"One such breed can bring to about 600 criminal arrests and convictions," says Lutenberg.

When fully grown, this breed can hit a maximum weight of 50kg and stands 69cm tall. It is estimated that each one of the dogs costs $ 6,000 (Sh456, 000) when fully trained.