Rocky can sniff and track down a poacher practically from the hills of West Kilimanjaro to the back alleys of Dar-es-Salaam.
Enter Jerry, always on standby to leap into action in hot pursuit of the scent trail.
With funding from our largest donor and closest partner, Big Life Foundation, Honeyguide established the Big Life Tracker Dog Unit in October 2011 to provide operational assistance to the multiple anti-poaching teams we support. Since then, the dog duo has helped lead countless anti-poaching operations in northern Tanzania, leading to arrests nearly every month. The unit is now so popular that Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), the Wildlife Division, the police and other agencies have requested the assistance of Rocky and Jerry.
The pair have led successful joint operations with both community and government ranger teams in nine national parks and community-based conservation areas across northern Tanzania, leading to major arrests of poachers and confiscation of ivory, bush meat, weapons and other illicit items.
More recently, the unit welcomed two new conservation canines, Chester and Rosdas, and launched a pilot project with TANAPA outside of Serengeti National Park. The unit’s new headquarters in Manyara Ranch is allowing the team to easily access multiple-protected areas within the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem, which has been under increasing poaching pressure.
Due to the successes of our four canines, Honeyguide will look to expand upon its tracker dog programs in the future to ensure greater wildlife protection in Tanzania.
