A dog named Bear is on a mission to save injured koalas following devastating bushfires in Australia.
He is sent into safe burnt-out areas to sniff out koala feces and fur.
According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Bear has been specially trained to sniff out displaced, sick, orphaned and injured koalas in the wild.
IFAW’s wildlife campaigner, Josey Sharrad, said: “Now, more than ever, saving individual koalas is critical.
“With such an intense start to the bushfire season, it will be many weeks and months before some of these fires are out. All the while, wildlife will continue to need to be rescued and treated and may remain in care for some time.
“The road to recovery will be long. The impact on local communities will be felt for many months, and the toll on native wildlife and critical habitat will never truly be known.
“Northern Rivers koalas are already struggling with prolonged drought, excessive land clearing and development, stress-related disease, dog attacks and car strikes. These animals need us now more than ever.”
Bear is actually a rescue dog, given up by his previous owners. He now works as a koala detection dog for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) alongside his handler, Rianna, from the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Detection Dogs for Conservation.
Rianna and Bear joined a search and rescue effort in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, working alongside Friends Of The Koala.
“He was brought in for assessment at about one year old. Within minutes the team knew he was “The One” they had been looking for to train on live koalas. He is high-energy, obsessive, doesn’t like to be touched and is completely uninterested in people, which sadly means he doesn’t make the ideal family pet.”
”But these qualities do make him a perfect candidate for a detection dog which is exactly why he was chosen,” IFAW , which funds Bear’s training and upkeep, shared in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
“Bear is highly focused and brilliant at focusing on one thing – his ball which is his reward, which makes 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,” the statement continues.
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