We have all hard of incredible stories of a dog saving humans and other animals when in danger and once gains, one dog in new south has region has proven why they are regarded as man’s best friend.
Over the last couples of months, Australia has been battling bush fires in various parts of the country that has so far resulted in the loss of lives and massive destruction of properties.
Experts believe that deadly fires have been fuelled by a combination of factors including prolonged drought, dangerous heat and strong winds.
Data released recently by the Australian government revealed that over 1 billion animals have died as a result of these deadly fire. One animal that has been heavily affected these bush fires is the koala bears.
At least 25,000 koalas are believed to have died from a deadly wildfire in South Australia, which is considered a safe haven for koalas. The reason why koalas are the most affected is that they are slow compared to other animals.
Unlike kangaroos which can easily outrun a deadly bush fire, koalas are very slow thus enable to outrun a fatal bush fire that is spreading fast.
According to scientists, the reason why koalas are very slow is that they feed on eucalyptus trees that don’t have much nutritional value. As a result, they have a prolonged metabolic rate, which makes them dull.
The rescue team from various agencies came together to help fight bushfire as well as help many helpless animals like koalas that had nowhere to run. Out of many incredible stories reported, one that stood out is the story of a four-year-old dog that managed to rescue and relocate 15 koalas from bushfires.
Taylor, a four-year-old Springer together with is trainer, Mr Ryan Tate was part of a search and rescue team in the recent Australian bush fire.
Taylor is trained as a detection dog and played a crucial role in the recent rescue effort. The four-year-old dog helped in locating and rescuing 15 koalas from the ravaging fire in the New South Wales region.
Both Ryan Tate and his lovely wife Jenifer are professional animal trainers and run an animal training enterprises known as the TATE. Taylor was one of the animals they taught to handle critical tasks like this.
Both Ryan and his four-year-old dog brave the scorching bush fire that was quickly destroying the koala’s habitat in an aim to rescue and relocate this endangered species that had already died in thousands from the deadly bushfire.
Ryan could transfer the endangered Koalas to safety but could not find them quickly. That is where Taylor came in.
The four-year-old dog has an incredible sense of smell and was able to locate the koala location by sniffing for their fresh scat and fur. On typical days, Taylor could cover between 6-10 miles in the field. That shows how committed she was in this rescue effort.
According to Ryan, Taylor can sense and locate kolas from 125m away. In some instances, Taylor would sit down, underneath a tree and show them the exact location where the koalas were. This is all thanks to her incredible sense of smell.
According to Ryan Taylor started training at the age of 8 weeks. Ryan admitted that she quickly noticed Tylor unique abilities from a tender age. But it was until when she reached 11 months that she was able to work in the field. Three years later, Taylor is now a well-trained detection dog and has managed to rescue over 50 koalas.
However, this is not the first time that Ryan and Taylor have worked together to rescue the endangered koalas. They have worked so many times in partnership with a different organization such as Port Macquarie Koala Hospital and New South Wales National Parks.
According to Ryan, witnessing, the destruction that was caused by the deadly fire was heartbreaking, and he knows he had to do something to help the endangered koalas.
The search and rescue operation had many challenges. According to Ryan, it was like solving a very complicated puzzle. However, they feel privileged to part of the team that rescued the remaining koala survivors. So far, Taylor has helped to save over 15 Kolas from the ravaging bushfires.
Thanks to Fox9 for sharing the original story.