A set of sniffer dogs from Belgium are the newest friends of wildlife in Bengal.
The four Belgian Malinois have been deployed in Jaldapara and Gorumara National Parks, Buxa Tiger Reserve and Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. Their assignment is to sniff out poachers in the forest.
“It has proved to be an effective step,” says West Bengal’s Forest Minister Binay Krishna Barman. The deployment of the dogs has made tracking and prevention of poaching easier. “These dogs can not only trace carcasses of animals killed by poachers, but also track down the culprits,” the Minister says.
The dogs arrived five months ago for their assignment. Four personnel of the Forest Department have been trained as handlers.
So when Rani in Jaldapara set out on her schedule, she found a bison that had been killed by local poachers. “Our sniffer dogs tracked down all the accused within a couple of days with the scent from a piece of cloth that the poachers left beside the carcass,” said Mr. Barman.
Day and night patrol
The dogs, which are about 26 inches at the shoulder, begin their work day at 6.30 a.m. and go on till 7.30 p.m. Their patrol includes checking vehicles for wildlife smuggling. Often they are on night duty as well. Karim does the rounds in Buxa tiger reserve and his unnamed counterpart is at Mahananda sanctuary.
A senior Forest Department official said that the sniffer dogs act as a “deterrent” to poachers. “They help in recovering concealed wildlife artefacts,” he said. Forest guards feel a sense of security now with a sniffer dog around. The same breed has been trained in Madhya Pradesh too.
