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Anti-Poaching Dog Unit
Royal Malewane
Foundation
Guardians of the Bush
Tango K9 is an anti-poaching dog unit which is at the forefront of curbing the detrimental effects of poaching in the Greater Kruger National Park.
The remarkable capabilities of Tango K9 – a team of passionate rangers, multi-purpose dogs and dedicated trailing dogs – far exceed what technology can deliver when it comes to the detection, apprehension and tracking of poachers on the ground.
The dedicated trailing dogs are experts in following human scent and have the ability to “back track”, allowing the rangers to confirm suspects’ activities on the reserve once apprehended. The multi-purpose dogs are perfect all-rounders who specialise in handler protection, suspect apprehension and the detection of various forms of contraband in hard-to-find places. Tango K9’s counter-poaching operations also include anti-poaching patrols, snare sweeps, preventative maintenance of the reserve boundaries and community education.
Beare
Known as The Sheriff of the K9 Unit, Beare is a Bloodhound x Doberman Pinscher cross and came from a very successful litter bred by Gaven Holden Smith. His siblings immediately made a big impact in the Kruger National Park with some long distance trailing of poachers which led to the arrest of numerous criminals. One of the advantages of these dogs is that they can take a fairly cold spoor and track the scent over incredibly long distances.
Beare is trained to follow the scent of cold spoor of up to 7 hours old, making him a highly capable tracking dog. These dogs have been known to track down poachers over a distance of 21km, a clear indication of their heightened and highly specialised tracking abilities.
Murphy
Murphy is a powerful female Belgian Malinois sponsored by a generous Australian couple visiting the area.
She’s a fast learner and has been trained in protection, detection & apprehension. She was locally trained and is an expert in searching vehicles, buildings & humans for firearms and animal products like ivory & rhino horn.
Belgian Malinois are extremely protective over their handlers and will fight with all their strength to protect them, making them brilliant and remarkably loyal companions in the bush.
Duke
Duke, also known as Ntwadumela, meaning ‘he who greets with fire’ is a Dutch Shepherd who joined the K9 Unit as an 8 week old recruit. He was trained in-house by his dedicated handler.
Duke is a true Multi-Purpose K9 with skills in tracking, apprehension as well as detecting contraband.
Khala
Khala is a pure-bred Bloodhound known as The Nose since her natural tracking ability is unmatched.
Similar to Beare, Khala has droopy ears and wrinkly skin which traps odour particles, enhancing their sense of smell and tracking ability and increasing the likelihood of success when combating poachers.
The name Khala comes from iKhala in iSizulu which means ‘nose’.
Storm
Storm is a female Blue Tick Coonhound who will be trained as a cold scent trailing dog. Blue Tick’s are masters at using their natural instincts when it comes to tracking and can follow older tracks under the most challenging of circumstances.
Help Us Make A Difference
Tango K9 is a non-profit conservation organisation that relies on our guests’ valuable patronage and their interest in the broader impact of tourism and conservation in Africa. After witnessing our magnificent wildlife and visiting our conservation projects, many guests generously contribute vital funds and as such we have compiled a wish list. To view this wish list and for more information, please contact trpfoundation@trp.travel
Our wish list includes items such as: a 4×4 vehicle, GPS Dog collar tracking device & remote, dog control collar & remote, recon binoculars (10 x 42), tactical night vision equipment and trail cameras just to name a few.
Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation
Royal Malewane is a founder member of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (“GKEPF”) which is a unique conservation initiative. GKEPF’s objective is to protect all wildlife in the central Kruger and private game reserves. GKEPF adopts a holistic approach to a problem that cannot be solved by individual reserves or lodges acting independently. They also play an active role in combating the illegal international trade in wildlife. While good work is already being done in this regard by the South African Police, Interpol and the FBI, GKEPF ensures greater resources are allocated to this effort.
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