Dogs in action against poachers of giant turtles

On the Cape Verde Islands, a highly endangered population of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) regularly returns to nest. However, this comes with a tragic fate: to this day, these reptiles are hunted for their meat and killed on the beaches during the nesting process.

For this reason, the internationally active Turtle Foundation stepped in back in 2007 to counteract poaching on one of the most affected islands—Boa Vista. Thanks to nighttime patrols on the affected beaches, as well as public awareness and education efforts among the local population, significant successes have been achieved.

Specially Trained Dog Units and Night Vision Drones

Since 2018, a team of dogs and drones has been in operation, significantly improving the monitoring of nesting beaches. The combination of professional night vision drones and trained sniffer dogs, along with their handlers, has helped prevent poaching attacks in advance in some cases. Additionally, the specially trained dogs can track down offenders in the vicinity of the crime scene. For instance, items left behind at the site, such as knives, serve as scent traces that allow the human-dog team to follow the trail.

Successes from Dog Deployment for Cape Verde’s Turtle Population

Since the introduction of the dog and drone team, poaching incidents have remained at a consistently low level. For comparison: before their deployment in 2017, conservationists recorded 238 turtles killed during egg-laying. Since then, the numbers have dropped dramatically, reaching a record low of just two cases of poaching in the 2023 nesting season. This is an extremely encouraging result that offers hope for the recovery of the globally significant loggerhead turtle population.

The project on Boa Vista shows how committed the team is to protecting the Caretta Caretta.

Some pictures show the rangers at work.