We ran short training trails that incorporated the wildlife
distractions — right through herds of darting zebra, topi and
antelope. After half a day the dogs became disinterested in
the animals and stayed locked onto the human scent trails.
Training in the shorter grass around herd animals had its
advantages, but those areas also attracted large predators.
One day we sent an armed ranger and two tracklayers out to
lay a mile-long trail. Scanning the horizon, I noticed an
animal sitting on a low mound of dirt about a quarter mile
upwind from the tracklayers’ position. I immediately asked
Mohamed whether it was a lion. “Yes, that is a simba,” he
replied. I asked whether he thought it was a problem for our
tracklayers. He said, “No, because the ranger sees him.”
Within the next five minutes, to my horror, I saw six
more lions appear. They sat facing our tracklayers, their
noses sniffing the air and smelling the human scent on the
wind. I grabbed the radio and shouted into the mic that
there were now seven lions and asked whether the
tracklayers had seen them. The sergeant calmly responded
that they saw the lions and that it was safe to run the trail.
He said the lions were not a danger to them “right now.”
Mohamed radioed Asuka and had her drive slowly toward
the lions, moving our car between the field team and the
pride. As we started the dog on the trail, the lions slowly
retreated, disappearing into the grass like ghosts on the
wind. By the time we reached the tracklayers, the lions were
gone. After that experience, I did not question the ranger’s
judgment again.
Wildlife Challenges
Lions were not the only predators we had to deal with. The
dog kennel was located inside the 15-foot-high walls of the
outpost and sturdily built for a reason. One night during a
storm we were awakened by the sound of baying and
whining hounds. Our tent was close to the kennel, so I
grabbed my flashlight and ran outside in the pouring rain to
see what the problem was.
When I reached the kennel, I noticed that one of the
interior doghouse doors had swung shut in the wind. I
opened the large metal door so the dog could get inside and
then, without a further thought, ran back to the tent to dry
off and get back to sleep. The howling and desperate whining continued. A short time later, we heard one of the
trainees checking the dogs. After that, we heard no more
sounds from the dogs for the rest of the night. In the morning, we asked the men what they had done to quiet the
dogs. They advised us that when Mohamed had gone to
check the dogs, he noticed the shadow of a leopard pacing
along the top of the wall next to the kennel roof. He locked
the dogs in their houses behind the heavy steel dog doors so
there would be no problems from the leopard. I learned to
always look up after that night.
Other hazards existed on the trail. One morning we went
to a location where the grass was head-high. As usual, the
rangers patrolled the training area with our vehicle to clear
Experience the Difference
Certification in:
NARCOTICS
PATROL
CADAVER
EXPLOSIVES
■■■
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The purpose of the NNDDA is to provide
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Visit www.nndda.org
for additional information
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