Kawal Tiger Reserve Gets Wildlife Sniffer Dogs
The training, which began in January 2025, focused on skills such as detecting wildlife contraband, tracking poachers and preventing wildlife crimes: Reports
HYDERABAD: Kawal tiger reserve will receive specially trained wildlife sniffer dog squads to bolster efforts against wildlife crime. On August 8, 14 wildlife sniffer dogs and 28 handlers completed a rigorous seven-month training at the National Training Centre for Dogs, Basic Training Centre, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (NTCD, BTC-ITBP) in Panchkula.
The training, which began in January 2025, focused on skills such as detecting wildlife contraband, tracking poachers and preventing wildlife crimes. The training is part of World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-India’s pioneering wildlife sniffer dog programme.
Dr Dipankar Ghose, senior director of Biodiversity Conservation at WWF-India, stressed that the growing threat of illegal wildlife trade is a highly organised criminal activity. “Strengthening wildlife law enforcement at the Central and state levels is crucial. The future of India’s tigers, elephants, rhinos, pangolins, turtles, birds and marine species depends on united efforts to curb illegal trade,” he explained. From just two dogs trained in 2008, WWF-India’s programme has grown to 120 trained dogs operating nationwide, he added.
Inspector General Ashok Negi of the ITBP said wildlife crime was a serious threat to India’s biodiversity and that trained sniffer dogs are indispensable in tackling it.. “We have decades of experience in training dogs for crime detection. This is the fifth batch trained under WWF-India’s programme here, and we are proud to support their preparation,” he added.
The newly trained dog squads will be posted at Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla, Achanakmar, Indravati and Udanti Sitanadi tiger reserves in Chhattisgarh; Kuno national park, Pench tiger reserve and Sanjay Gandhi national park in Madhya Pradesh; Sahyadri and Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserves in Maharashtra; Kawal tiger reserve in Telangana; Valmiki tiger reserve in Bihar; Ranthambore tiger reserve in Rajasthan; Dalma wildlife sanctuary in Jharkhand; and Pakke tiger reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.