“Dogs. They are silly. They are lovable. They truly are man’s best friend.”

“And in northern Kenya, they are elephants’ best friends, too.” 

“Meet Warrior and Machine.These bloodhounds are part of the anti-poaching security team at Loisaba Conservancy.”

 

 

“This 56,000-acre expanse of pristine habitat sits in an important elephant movement corridor. Elephants walk about 20 to 30 miles a day, so they need a lot of space.The disappearance of large movement corridors like this one is one of the biggest threats to elephants today.” 

 

 

“But, like elephants everywhere, the tuskers that move through Loisaba are also threatened by poaching. That’s where Warrior and Machine come in.” 

“They use their powerful sense of smell to lead their human handlers to suspected poachers and others involved in criminal activities. When poachers know they’re likely to get caught, the elephants that live there are safer.”

“Thank you, Warrior and Machine, from all of us, and about a 1,000 of your elephant neighbors, too.”             

Transcribed from Source (1)

 

 

 

 

Such is the legacy of Warrior and Machine, two extraordinary bloodhounds who were very much a part of the anti-poaching team at the 56,000 acre Loisaba Conservancy in northern Kenya. (3) 

As Loisaba “lies within an important movement corridor for the country’s second-largest population of elephants” (3) Warrior and Machine had an important job to do.

 

 

 

Known for their superior sense of smell “at least 1,000 times stronger than a human’s” (4) bloodhounds are natural trackers (not to mention their lovable natures). And Machine and Warrior were certainly up to the task. 

Whilst their parents were imported from America, brothers Warrior and Machine were born on the Ol Jogi reserve, adjacent to Loisaba. They were given strong names which mirrored their behavior. Machine loved to run at breakneck speed while his brother, Warrior, just seemed ‘angry’. (4)

 

 

The “bloodhound brothers” joined the anti-poaching team in 2012 at age nine months after completing their training at the Ol Jogi Conservancy. (5)

Though often enticed by bowls-full of kibble (5) they were naturals at their job. 

Warrior and Machine were integral in capturing a number of poachers who had killed an elephant in Oldonyiro. (5) They also led their team to capture, in July 2017, three men who had “killed an endangered reticulated giraffe”. Those men subsequently received a three year jail term. (5)

So, it is not without a lot of sadness to say that both “bloodhound brothers” were lost in the same year. In 2021 Warrior succumbed to a snake bite and Machine to cancer.  In life as in death they were and are still together. 

 

 

 

Images & Transcribed from cc video by “Ranger Dogs Saving Elephants” By The Nature Conservancy CH (1)

 

Sources:  

(1) cc video by “Ranger Dogs Saving Elephants” By The Nature Conservancy CH 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Long%E2%80%99uro+RETETI+elephant+creative+commons

(2) “Meet bloodhounds Warrior and Machine, whose ability to follow scent trails for 130 miles is helping to catch poachers in Africa” https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-5494863/Bloodhounds-Warrior-Machine-help-catch-poachers-Africa.html

(3) https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/loisaba-conservancy/

(4) https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-5494863/Bloodhounds-Warrior-Machine-help-catch-poachers-Africa.html

(5) https://loisaba.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Loisaba-Impact-Report-2020.pdf

 

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