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Pangolins: Two dogs team up to save with conservation of endangered creatures
Two special police dogs are teaming up to sniff out pangolins in Thailand that could be in danger.
Labradors Buster and Bess have just graduated from a training programme with the police, and are flying out to Thailand in April.
They'll be sniffing out for animals like the endangered pangolin to help stop people from smuggling them out of the country.
The two dogs are a part of a new team to help to protect endangered animals in Thailand.
Protecting Pangolins
Image source, Fabian von Poser
Pangolins are small mammals with long claws and scales. You might know them by one of their signature moves - they roll up into a ball when they're scared or in danger.
They are extremely rare - and are currently considered critically endangered, which means there aren't many of them left.
Conservationists - people who look after animals and nature - want to help the pangolins and keep the species going.
However, in Thailand, pangolins are often illegally taken out of the country by people who want to sell them to make money, in what's known as poaching.
Buster and Bess to the rescue!
Image source, Reuters
This is where the two super-dogs come in.
Buster and Bess - who are both Labradors - are going to be trained to sniff out pangolins to make sure people aren't illegally taking them out of the country.
They had a special visit to the London Zoo, where they met some of their conservation teammates. They also got to see the zoo's penguin colony.
Pangolin Specialist Georgina Gerard said "not all heroes wear capes: some walk on all fours and have extremely powerful noses".
This isn't the first time dogs have been used to help protect animals - police sniffer dogs were sent to Mongolia to help protect wildlife from being smuggled.
Journey to Thailand
Image source, Reuters
In April the dogs will make their journey over to Thailand, where they will work with experts in the community.
The key locations they will be trying are roads, airports and ports, which pangolins are often moved through illegally.
If they do find any pangolins, a team of vets and conservationists will look after them before releasing them back into the wild.