Trained scent-detection dogs have found endangered Sumatran rhinos with the combined efforts of the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) and the Indonesian authorities.
Earlier this month, the IRF teamed up with sniffer dogs from Working Dogs for Conservation, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and the Yayasan Badak Indonesia to find the lost rhino population in Indonesia’s Way Kambas National Park.
Prior to the discovery, IRF hyped up the sniffer dogs on social media, penning, "Finding them in the dense rainforest is no small task, but with their incredible sense of smell, these dogs are helping conservationists locate rhinos (or their scat!)."
Following that, an August 18 report by Mongabay, a conservation news outlet, shared that the dogs "have discovered what are believed to be several heaps of Sumatran rhino dung," which one test has confirmed belongs to a Sumatran rhino.
Nina Fascione, the IRF's executive director, told the outlet, "Quite honestly, in my opinion, I trust the dogs."
Working Dogs for Conservation explained on its website that "dogs can have upwards of 220 million [scent receptors], which is why they can detect a single teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water. Where [humans] experience the world visually, dogs perceive a detailed scentscape."
Two more tests on the scat are needed for final confirmation from the Indonesian government about the Sumatran rhino population.
