Posted on March, 03 2010

WWF’s researchers Khieu Oudom and Pin Chan Ratana have been trained as dog handlers to take part in a study using specialized Scat Detection dogs to search the forest of the Eastern Plains Landscape for droppings from the area’s tigers and leopards. As part of the training, the team worked closely with the two dogs Scooby and Sadie from the University of Washington’s Conservat ion Canines Programme. The initial training was quickly followed by success as both teams found their first scats only three weeks into the official survey, which was carried out from December 2009 until April 2010.

The training was conducted by experienced US-American dog handlers Ms Liz Seely and Ms Jennifer Hartmann, both with Conservation Canines, who accompanied the dogs during the survey. Training exercises and play proved a great way for the two Cambodians to earn the dog’s trust and love while working with the animals. What started out as an exciting new opportunity has turned into one of the best jobs Mr Khieu Oudom ever had.

“It has been great to work with these smart animals,” he said. “They are very friendly. And sometimes I don’t even recognize the dogs as wildlife, more as my siblings.”

Just one year ago, Mr Oudom had never heard of detection dogs. He liked dogs, feeding and taking care of them at his home, but he had never thought of actually working with them. Now his daily routine consists of leading a black Labrador through the jungles of Mondulkiri in search of tiger scat.

“The detection work includes walking the dogs into the landscape across different areas and types of forest looking for and collecting tiger scats,” he said. “As a reward for finding scat, the dogs get to play with the ball.”

The trainers were impressed by the handlers’ enthusiasm throughout the project saying that the two Cambodians truly exceeded expectations in their abilities to work with the dogs.

Mr Heath Smith, Programme Coordinator with Conservation Canines, confessed that he had been worried about training Cambodians inexperienced with such work. But the result of the survey project changed his mind. “I am very impressed with the understanding between the Cambodian handlers and the dogs,” he said. “These handlers are now as good as anybody we could hire in the US.”

The study has become a great success with over 200 scat samples collected, about 10% of which are large enough to be tiger scat. The detection dog project also drew attention from international press like BBC, Reuters, and VoA as well as from national media including government run Television of Kampuchea (TVK) and other online news and web blogs.

Dr Thomas Gray, Biodiversity Monitoring Advisor with the WWF’s Eastern Plains Landscape Project, was very pleased with the amount of collected scats. “The project is now seeking partners to conduct the genetic analysis that will assign each sample to either tiger or leopard and identify individual big cats from their scat,” he said.

Moreover, Dr Gray was very satisfied with the development of Mr Khieu Oudom and Mr Pin Chan Ratana, who, he hopes, will put their newly acquired skills to good use in future projects.

The current survey project on scat detection is part of an extensive research program on the remaining predators in Mondulkiri’s Eastern Plains Landscape, most likely the only place in Cambodia where tigers are still present. Information on the area’s remaining tigers is urgently needed by WWF-Cambodia to support its efforts to conserve this unique block of largely intact tiger-habitat within the Lower Mekong Dry Forest Ecoregion.