Meet The Brave Dogs That Are Rescuing Koalas From Australia’s Deadly Wildfires

One of the most record-breaking fires is currently raging on the east coast of Australia in New South Wales. It is devastating the wildlife population – koalas amongst the hardest hit as they are slow-moving. But thanks to the incredible hard work of koala-sniffing dogs like Taylor and Bear, conservationists are able to rescue the precious marsupials as their beloved eucalyptus trees burn to the ground in the bushfires.

Border collie cross, Bear, is currently working with the Australian group of thenon-profit IFAW. He was initially too high-energy for his previous family, but this, coupled with his drive and love of work are exactly what make him a fantastic koala dog.

His handler Romane, said to Australian Geographic, “Bear is a happy soul, always keen to be on the move and do something. His worst nightmare is to be left behind when you go to work – luckily for him, we are allowed to bring our dogs to work every day.”

And Taylor is a 4-year-old springer spaniel who has managed to locate 8 koalas so far – including a mother and her joey.

Taylor comes from a long line of working dogs, with her father and siblings all work in animal detection. These incredibly clever dogs learn to identify any animal species from reptiles and birds, to mammals. Besides koalas, Tayler can detect quolls, foxes, cats, rabbits, and rats. And while working, she also marks for any nearby predators.

Dogs trained to find koalas normally trail the scent of either koala fur or their scat. The dogs alert under the tree in order for volunteers or air workers to be able to spot the koala and then scale the tree in order to rescue the koala in need.

The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital is now caring for tons of koala burn victims, thanks to generous donations from people across the globe. You can help here.

Without these bush fires, the dogs would normally be helping scientists to find and track koalas forresearch and conservation purposes. According to Romane, human koala spotters have a 20% as opposed to dogs who always find koalas with 100% accuracy.

Up until the early 1920s, Koalas were hunted for their meat and fur. While their numbers bounced back, deforestation and urban encroachment have severely affected their natural habitat, and as a result, less than 50,000 koalas left in the wild. And now, their world is on fire.

We are sending all our love and prayers to Australia’s koalas.