Drum – the British springer spaniel dog saves two rhinos.

Drum is an amazing dog, he has been hand-picked for one of the most important jobs in the world – saving a species from extinction.

There are only two northern white rhino’s left in the world, both of which are female. Although the last male rhino died in March 2018, there is still hope for this sub-species as scientists are working on an elaborate IVF program to bring them back from extinction.

So, what can a cute little springer spaniel dog from Norfolk in the UK do about it?

Well even though the rhinos are guarded by watchtowers, fences and radio transmitters, the poachers are still a threat. So Drum is specially trained to sniff out the guns and ammunition that hunters might try to smuggle into the wildlife sanctuary.

He was trained by Daryll Pleasants, founder of the charity Animals Saving Animals. Drum quickly displayed exceptional ‘scent detection skills’. He was so good at sniffing out weapons, that he was chosen for the job after just ten months of training.

As a result of his training, Drum has been deployed to Kenya in the Ol Pejeta conservancy. He works with his handler John Mamba, pictured above. And, he is now one of four dogs that are members of the elite APU Anti-Poaching Unit. 

Drum is responsible for searching cars that enter the conservancy. He also checks for weapons that poachers may have hidden in different areas of the park.