Wildfires in Australia Killed Thousands of Koalas, Leaving Thousands More Injured or Orphaned, and This Amazing Dog Is Helping Find Them So They Can Receive Medical Help
Australia’s bushfires have already taken a brutal toll on wildlife, and koalas have been among the hardest hit. In the middle of that devastation, a trained detection dog named Bear has been helping rescue teams locate survivors hiding in damaged areas.
Bear works with Detection Dogs for Conservation and has been sent into some of the worst-affected parts of Queensland and New South Wales. His job is simple but vital, find koalas that are injured, orphaned, or stranded so they can get medical help fast.
And in a disaster this big, one dog’s nose can make a real difference.
This is Bear – a dog who is helping to save koalas
Bear is bringing a glimmer of hope for koalas suffering from Australia’s deadly bushfires, but these animals need more heroes to save them from this ongoing disaster. Bear is an integral part of these rescue efforts. He was recently deployed to southeast Queensland and one of the hardest-hit areas of New South Wales, where the bushfires decimated local koala populations. Bear is one of the few detection dogs who can locate live koalas through the scent of their fur.
Bear is taught to find ill, orphaned, and wounded koalas in the wild
Bear is a border collie/koolie mix, and he is working with Detection Dogs for Conservation, where he received special training that enables him to sniff out and find displaced, parentless, sick, or injured koalas. He has been working hard in several areas across Australia, finding koalas that need help.
That training is what makes him so valuable in the field.
Bear is now 6 years old
Rescuing koalas is a specific job that requires a special dog. Koala detection dogs must meet certain requirements. They shouldn’t be interested in people, must be very focused, and have no desire to attack smaller prey. Bear meets all these requirements. A dog that was abandoned years ago by his previous owners is now doing a very important job.
Previous owners didn’t want him anymore, so they brought him to Detection Dogs for Conservation
Bear is highly focused and brilliant at concentrating on one thing, his ball, which serves as his reward, making him perfectly suited for the job. He also has zero prey drive, which is essential for a wildlife detection dog, as they need to focus purely on the scent and not the animal, ultimately ignoring the animal.
This is similar to Eve, the hairless black bear rescued from a dumpster after severe mange.
It’s a pretty remarkable second act for a dog who once had nowhere to go.
Even with all the efforts, some koala populations are close to disappearing entirely in New South Wales
The ongoing bushfires in Australia are wreaking havoc on wildlife, particularly the koala populations in New South Wales, which are facing the threat of extinction. If you are looking to support the survival of Australian koalas, consider making a donation to the International Fund for Animal Welfare through their official website at ifaw.org.
Do you have any ideas about how we can all help? Please share this article so we can raise awareness.
Bear is doing heroic work, one koala at a time.
Wait, this dog trapped in tar had to bark every ounce of energy for help. Read the rescue story.
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