Bengaluru: While trained dogs formed part of Anti-Poaching Camps (APCs) in forest areas but for the first time a trained Belgian Malinois dog, a breed suited for all weather conditions and terrains, was deployed in a successful elephant capture operation in Belur of Hassan on Saturday.
Of the two trained Belgian Malinois- a dog named Issa was pressed into service in Belur and it forms a part of Elephant Anti-Depredation Dog Squad.
Once the scent is identified, Research Officer attached to A Rocha India, Dilip Kumar told Deccan Chronicle on Sunday the dog tracks the elephant's movement path and at a distance of about 100-150 meters, the trained dog pressed into service will give a silent sit indication signaling to the personnel the presence of and direction of elephant movement.
In collaboration with Karnataka Forest Department, The Elephant Anti-Depredation Dog Squad is a pioneering conservation initiative developed by 'A Rocha India' a non-profit wildlife conservation organization which mainly works in southern India especially the Bannerghatta-Hosur (Tamil Nadu) landscape.
In comparison with drones, he said "Drone cameras have been used to track elephants and drone cameras are found to be ineffective in high temperatures which makes images unclear. Besides, with a drone it is difficult to track a particular elephant in the dark."
While, he said, trained Belgian Malinois dogs are good at gathering scent of elephants and help to keep track of a particular elephant which comes in handy in times of its capture.
Dilip stated training for Belgian Malinois dogs is at Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bengaluru and it takes about 5-9 month to train a dog. On the method of training for Belgian Malinois in tracking elephants in the plantations, Dilip said, "After elephants dogs are good at tracking scent. Belgian Malinois are trained using elephant dung to track scent of a particular elephant."
Continuing, he said, dogs are trained showing tamed elephants to familiarize them with jumbos and later the dogs were given training at Dubare and Mathigodu elephant camps. In the dark, he said, a trained dog will gather scent of a particular elephant and help keep its track of an elephant.
Hassan forest officials stated "We started services of Elephant Anti-Depredation Dog Squad to improve tracking and early warning system for wild elephants."