This is an inspirational story about Ella, the first shared ‘Cold Scent’ rhino tracking dog for the Eastern Cape. She is a sweet bloodhound doberman cross.
Ella is currently one of a kind for game reserves in the Eastern Cape. She is a ‘cold scent’ tracker dog, this means she is able to track poachers long after they have left the scene of the crime.
Sometimes poached Rhino are only found the day after they are killed and with Ella they now have the means to track old scents and build an idea as to how and where the poachers went. Ella is currently in the Eastern Cape as the rise in poaching there has been drastic.
She has been carefully selected by the Chipembere Rhino Foundation (CRF), a local registered non-profit and public benefit organisation to be part of the Forever Wild Rhino Protection initiative. She is fully funded by Medivet.
‘We are excited to introduce Medivet’s first ever fully funded tracker dog, Ella, who will play a key role in our fight to save the rhino.
Ella will use her amazing sense of smell to track down poachers and she will be a vital tool during poaching incidents. Thanks to the continued support of our clients and colleagues, we look forward to a future where Ella can help save rhino from poachers’, – John Smithers, Medivet Senior Partner and coordinator of the Medivet Saving the Rhino campaign
Ella will track the scent of the poachers to a point and then the K9 units will pursue the suspects. She is also available to support all neighbouring reserves in the province to assist in apprehending poachers. Dog units are proving to be a big success in anti-poaching efforts.
“Collaboration between various rhino reserves, NGO’s and funding partners is what is going to make the difference between life and death for rhino in this province. Ella is a great example of this and her capacity to deploy strategically due to extensive funding support is a huge benefit to our efforts,” – Dr William Fowlds, a renowned wildlife veterinarian and Wilderness Foundation Africa Medivet Project Co-ordinator.
“It is our goal to saturate the Eastern Cape with well-trained anti-poaching dogs to protect the rhinos in our province, a precious heritage that belongs to all of our people,” – Brent Cook, Director of CRF
You can see Ella below and hear her amazing story.
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