Sniffing Out Stories with the Scat Detection Dog Team

During the winter months, July was packed with incredible moments as our team focused on three key areas: daily dog care and scent training, productive field searches across CCF farms, and engaging demonstrations for visitors and interns. The month was filled with learning moments out in the field and kept me on my feet in the very best way.

One field day stood out in particular. We were joined by two working guests, Jeffrey and Ellen, and had just given them a quick overview of our work. To really show them what we do, we took them to one of our key cheetah monitoring spots the “play tree.” Some like to call it the cheetahs’ Facebook, Instagram, or even their online dating site. Whatever name you give it, it’s where cheetahs leave messages in the form of scat and scent. As we drove out to Otjenga play tree, I started feeling a little disappointed it didn’t look like we were going to find anything exciting. But just as we got there, my heart lifted. From the car, I could already see the site covered in scat. I quickly took Enya out, fitted her with her GPS collar, and let her do her thing. She followed her nose and gave a strong positive indication. I rewarded her with her favourite toy. The best part of the job is always seeing them light up after a successful find. I turned to the guests and said, “We’ve found our little treasure” The site had everything from dry, solid ones and fresh scat.

A major highlight was spotting a leopard for the first time while out. I was out doing a scent line-up exercise with Enya, and suddenly, Enya froze looking behind me. I immediately turned around to see what was happening, there it was, right behind me. I was so scared but, Enya remained calm, focused, as if saying, “I’ve got this.” The leopard silently crossed the road and disappeared into the thick bushes. It reminded me of Tim telling me a similar story about him encountering a leopard while out with the dogs and telling me to always keep my eyes on the dogs. Its wild moments like this which remind me how lucky I am to do this kind of work. Watching Enya’s body language shift in response to a predator was both interesting and a powerful reminder of how important it is to always keep my eyes on them for both effective detection and our safety in the wild.

Another memorable experience was when I placed out a training aid scat for the interns to test the dogs’ detection skills. But, surprisingly things didn’t go exactly as planned. Instead of indicating on the training aid, the dogs picked up on a real cheetah scat nearby and gave a strong indication there instead. A great reminder that in the field, the dogs are always working and often one step ahead of us.

Beyond the fieldwork, I really enjoyed the demos this month. We had large groups from Earth Expeditions and Murdoch University (top photo) who came out to see what the dogs do. Sharing our work explaining how we train, what the dogs look for, how they alert always reminds me how special this job is. It’s not just about scat. It’s about trust between you and your dog, and about seeing people light up when they learn how conservation detection dogs are helping save cheetah in the wild. Whether it’s watching Enya getting excited during a scent line-up or rewarding Gamena after a successful find beside a dusty shrub, every outing teaches me something new about the dogs, the bush, and myself. We are excited to keep sniffing out new discoveries in the months ahead and tell a hundred little stories.

Photos by Forrest Cole (previous media intern) Jeffrey and Ellen