Rocky & Jerry: Conservation Canine Rock Stars

Meet Rocky, a four-year-old German shepherd who can sniff and track down a poacher practically from the forests of West Kilimanjaro all the way to the back alleys and markets of Dar-es-Salaam.

Enter his sidekick, Jerry, who is always on standby to leap into action in hot pursuit of the scent trail.

With funding from Big Life Foundation, Honeyguide established a dog tracker 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, including many that led to arrests. In fact, the unit has become so popular that Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), the Wildlife Division, the police, and even the military have requested the assistance of Rocky and Jerry.

In October 2013, the unit came to the aid of a successful crackdown on illegal logging in Arusha National Park. Earlier this year, they tracked down a poacher from Manyara Ranch to a bus in Arusha.

“I love working with Rocky and Jerry. They are my friends,” said Lembris Kephas, Honeyguide’s anti-poaching sergeant and head of the dog tracker unit. “They also make our jobs much easier.”

Sergeant Kephas with Rocky (right), ranger with Jerry (left) on joint forces mission

While focused on tracking poachers in Honeyguide’s project areas, Rocky and Jerry have so far also supported operations in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, Tarangire National Park, Manyara National Park, and Arusha National Park. The dogs were purchased from and trained by Canine Specialist Services International in Arusha.

“We keep training them and playing with them,” added Kephas. “Rocky is always energetic, alert and playful. Jerry is the more serious and quiet one. They really mean business, though, when it comes to following and finding poachers.”

You can bet you haven’t heard the last of Rocky and Jerry. Go ahead and call them conservation canine rock stars.