GCF K9 Reaper and the Fight Against Endangered Succulent Poaching: A New Trend in Conservation Challenges

Global Conservation Force’s K9 Reaper continues her critical work in partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and handler, Shadi, targeting poachers who exploit rare and endangered succulents. This effort is more important than ever, as illegal trafficking of these plants from the Western Cape to Gauteng, and eventually to Eastern countries, has escalated.

EWT, alongside the South African Police Service (SAPS), has developed a strategic response to this trend, planning several roadblocks in the Western Cape this September and October. GCF has been called upon to support these operations by deploying K9 Reaper to assist in detecting illegally trafficked plants. Reaper’s extensive training has prepared her to differentiate between target succulent species and other distractions, making her a vital asset to these efforts.

This comes after a major milestone for EWT’s succulent detection team last October, when three “pioneering pooches”—Reaper, Delta, and Ike—successfully outwitted plant poachers in the Northern Cape. During a midnight roadblock, Delta, a border collie, sniffed out a single blueberry-sized plant left in a vehicle, leading to the recovery of a box containing 1,760 poached Conophytum subterraneum plants. The two suspects were arrested and charged under the Northern Cape Nature Conservation Act.

This historic bust, involving collaboration between EWT, law enforcement, and other conservation agencies, highlighted the effectiveness of scent detection dogs in protecting endangered species. EWT has since celebrated the success of the K9 teams, noting how the dogs’ incredible ability to detect even the smallest traces of endangered plants has revolutionized the fight against succulent poaching.

To read more about last year’s major poaching bust and the groundbreaking work of the EWT K9 unit, click [https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2023-10-22-dog-detectives-bust-plant-poachers-in-northern-cape/].

Stay tuned as K9 Reaper and her team continue to protect endangered succulents through innovative conservation efforts and strategic deployments in the months ahead.