Australia's next koala detection dog is in training to continue Bear’s legacy

A new four-legged conservation hero is in training, with a rescue dog preparing to follow in the pawprints of world-famous koala detection dog Bear.

Following the retirement of 11-year-old Bear earlier this year, IFAW and Innovation for Conservation (I4C) launched a search for a new canine hero. The new dog will be trained to search for live koalas in need of rescue, filling the critical gap left behind when Bear hung up his iconic red boots.

The call out in May this year attracted worldwide attention, with dozens of applications coming from across Australia and even the United States. One of those applicants was Australian koolie Oaka. The two-year-old from New South Wales stood out immediately.

"We didn't know it would be possible to find a new Bear. He was truly one of a kind and left big boots to fill, but then along came Oaka. Bear showed the world what's possible when a rescue dog is given a second chance and finds its true purpose. I see that same spark in Oaka," IFAW Oceania head of programs Josey Sharrad said.

Oaka has a similar story to Bear, having been surrendered after being considered too much to handle by her previous family. Local rescue group DM Rescue and trainer Avery Keller saw her potential immediately and submitted an application following the public call-out.

She impressed IFAW and I4C trainers through a series of video evaluations and then travelled to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland for in-person testing. After passing her initial tests with flying colours, Oaka was selected to begin training as Australia's next koala detection dog.

"We were hopeful watching Oaka's test videos and a little bit nervous when she made the long trip to see us. Within minutes of seeing her in action, we knew we had struck gold as she covered ground with such ease looking for her ball," Innovation for Conservation director, trainer and handler Russell Miller said.

"Oaka being an Australian koolie like Bear, has the perfect breeding for this type of work. She can already easily search the area and recover her ball, now we have to transfer this into the search for the odour of the koala (fur)."

Oaka is being trained in collaboration with IFAW's director of canine units, Frédéric Chappée, who has more than 20 years' experience working with dogs. Even though he lives on the other side of the world in France, Mr Chappée has successfully developed a 'doggy distance learning program' which includes in-person trainings and assessments a few times a year.

The training involves scent and search exercises with balls before progressing to scent training where Oaka needs to learn to find koala fur.

"Usually, when I'm looking for a new detection dog, I can assess up to 100 dogs, but we found Oaka within a week. It was almost too good to be true until we saw her in person and knew she was the one," Mr Chappée said.

"For many people around the world, Bear became an icon, but what makes Bear truly unique is not only what he achieved, but the void he left behind. It's a void that I am hopeful Oaka can fill."

Training a dog to detect koalas high up in trees is a difficult and long process. Their job is much harder than one who is trained to find koala scats. A koala might be many metres high up in a tree, but its strongest scent may be on the ground, far from the base of the tree. This makes it even more difficult for a dog to pinpoint exactly where the koala is.

Bear, who was one of the first dogs in Australia trained on the scent of the fur of live koalas, was trained in two years.

"We are fast-tracking her training because we know how critical it is to have a highly skilled koala detection dog back in the field, helping protect one of Australia's most iconic species. With El Niño already here and a tough summer on the horizon, our koalas will need all the help they can get, whether it comes on two legs or four," Ms Sharrad said.

ENDS

Press contact: Dominica Mack, [email protected], 0460 432 901

Notes:

• IFAW and I4C's newest koala detection dog, Oaka, is fueled by Lyka.
• More information about Oaka can be found in our FAQ (separate attachment).
• Bear was trained to drop to the ground at the base of a tree when he found a koala, and his reward was his favourite thing in life-a ball. During the Black Summer bushfires, Bear's helped to find more than 100 koalas, many in need of veterinary care. His heroic efforts and red fire-protective boots earned the admiration of everyone from Tom Hanks to Leonardo DiCaprio. Photos and videos of Bear can be found here.
• University of the Sunshine Coast Detection Dogs for Conservation director and Associate Professor, Romane Cristescu, who trained and handled Bear during his career, said she was excited to have a working koala detection dog again. "We know Bear not only helped after disasters such as the Black Summer fires, but he brought a smile and some joy to desperate times."
• Innovation for Conservation is an Australian organisation specialising in detection dogs and science led conservation to protect threatened wildlife.