Conservation detector dogs helping save threatened species including koalas and turtles

With wagging tails and an extraordinary sense of smell, these four-legged detectors can sniff out a threat few humans are capable of. Rocky the conservation dog and his young trainee Cooper put their noses to the ground, tracking the scent of pest animals to help protect native species. Their success has led to even greater demand from local governments, regional bodies and national parks as they try to protect their native animal populations among Australia's growing list of threatened species. "They were initially losing over 30 per cent of their eggs and hatchlings on the beach to foxes, until the dogs identified well over 100 fox dens within four kilometres of Mon Repos," he said. "They've got to be trained, so there's a time frame for conservation dogs to be able to come on board and to be serviceable," he said.