Project Rhino K9 Unit: Defending African Wildlife

Although we cannot reveal all the details for security reasons, the Project Rhino K9-Unit has been kept incredibly busy, responding to a number of emergency incidents over the reporting period. These call-outs included day and night patrols, road blocks, the detection of contraband items, tracking of animals and suspected criminals, as well as assisting local law enforcement and anti-poaching unit (APU) teams in the apprehension of suspects. One of the team’s biggest successes was in assisting Alpha Security (a private security company) to seize R800,000 of counterfeit items.

When they are not in the field, the K9-Unit can be found assisting the South African Police Services (SAPS) in their criminal cases, or training with other APUs in the area. The dogs also conduct training exercises with our aerial patrol wing (ZAP-Wing) to ensure that they are fully ready to respond when an incident occurs.

The K9 team went beyond the call of duty and assisted us in our “Skydive for Rhino,” fundraising initiative, which took place at the Hluhluwe ZAP-Wing base in August. The four-day event was a great success as more than 90 people showed their support for Project Rhino by tandem-jumping out of a perfectly safe aeroplane. The funds raised by the campaign will be used to support the ZAP-Wing and K9-Units (covering two to three months’ operational costs). We are in urgent need of new tyres for our response vehicle, as well as shade cloth for the kennels to help keep our dogs cool. Our vehicle is also in need of a new bumper (fender) and we are actively trying to find funding for these items as soon as we can.

Sad news is that Phoenix, our Belgian Malinois tracking dog, is showing signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, after being witness to at least nine incidents involving gunfire. We are currently looking for a suitable home where Phoenix can enjoy being a “regular” dog in early retirement. Bailey is already showing great potential in replacing her, and young Spook (just eight months old) is also proving herself more than capable in both tracking and detection.

Thank you to all our GlobalGiving partners, friends and donors for your ongoing support. A special thank you to One Plan Insurance, who sponsors our insurance cover for both dogs and handlers. One Plan includes regular updates on our K9-Unit on their website and even joined us at a fancy dress and fundraiser organised by Riverleigh International Equestrian Centre in Gauteng. Thank you for making a difference.

Dear friends and supporters

We are delighted to share a brief summary of our K9 team’s activities over the last three months, as the Unit has been incredibly busy in the Zululand landscape.  Not only does our K9 unit tackle wildlife crime, but also assists in the broader community to reduce crime in general.

Just in the last week the Project Rhino K9 unit was called out twice by the South African Police Service to assist in robberies in the Greater Hluhluwe Area.  The first was a robbery in Hluhluwe Town, upon which the K9's successfully tracked down two suspects close to the N2 highway where the robbers were apprehended. 

The second call from the South African Police Service was for the K9 team to assist with tracking down wildlife poachers on a game farm on the outskirts of Hluhluwe Town.  The K9's successfully followed the poachers’ tracks for over 7 kilometres and found items on the tracks such as a double barrel hunting rifle, hunting knives and axes.

Our K9 Unit has also been called out frequently to surrounding game reserves (private, community and government reserves) to assist the various reserves’ Anti-Poaching Units with wildlife crime incidences that occurred.  The K9’s are trained to fly in helicopters, which minimizes the time it takes the team to arrive at the scene of the crime, increasing the success rate in catching the perpetrators.

The Unit does not only respond to incidences, but are deployed on a daily basis to our Member Rhino reserves, where they do training with the various reserves Anti-Poaching Units.  They also do training exercises with the Project Rhino Air Wing to ensure that they are they are fully ready when an incident occurs.

Spook, our Dutch Sheppard puppy, who joined us as an eight-week old black ball of fluff, is officially in training and is currently busy with obedience training, imprinting training, ball drive training (basis of detection work) and prey drive training (basis of tracking work).  Her training will ensure that she is a dual purpose K9 with tracking and detection capabilities. Being based in Zululand at the moment, Spook is gaining valuable exposure to local working conditions, and is already confident around the varied scents and sounds found in the Zululand bush.

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to IFPCP our service provider, Alpha Security, WESSA Lowveld, MSD Animal Health, Mr Duncan Paul, Mr Michael Rea and Ms Sharon Hahn and OnePlan for your kind donations over the period – we would not be able to function without your support and generosity.

Links:

• Project Rhino K9 Unit