A border-collie cross is saving the lives of suffering koalas in Australia.
The dog, named Bear, is different from other canines because he has been trained in koala detection.
Bear, in collaboration with the non-profit group International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), has been deployed to areas that have recently been burnt.
"He comes and helps us out in the field looking for koalas that are either injured or in need of relocation," his handler from IFAW told 7News.
Because the ground is burnt, Bear wears protective boots as he searches for injured koalas.
He discovers them by picking up on their fur scent. This is the hardest job among IFAW's detection dogs as it depends on the wind and other factors such as the heat, said an IFAW spokesperson.
"He follows the scent and tries to find where it is the most concentrated, and when he does he'll drop to let us know he's found the scent there."
The five-year-old canine is the first koala detection dog in Australia, according to IFAW, and has worked in New South Wales, Queensland and the Sunshine Coast.
According to his owner Romane Cristescu, Bear had too much energy for his previous family.
"Bear never thinks he's working, the way we train him, work is play, said Cristescu.
Although Bear may be the first canine trained to track koalas, he is not the only dog skilled in this profession.
Taylor, a four-year-old springer spaniel, has been finding koalas in Port Macquarie, NSW.
According to TATE Animal Training Enterprises, she is trained to find koalas, quolls, foxes, cats, rabbits and rats.
"Taylor assisted in finding eight koalas on our days in the field. On three occasions she sat right beneath live animals, (including a mum and joey), and then in many other instances she would alert us to fresh scat and we would notify the expert Koala spotters who would then survey the canopy to spot the survivors," the organisation posted on Facebook.
She comes from a talented family, as her entire litter and her Dad all work professionally finding animals such as turtles, antechinus, cane toads, bilbies, rats, birds, stick insects, lizards and snakes.
Taylor covers between ten and 35km every day and in optimum conditions, TATE Animal Training Enterprises has seen her recognise and hone in on a koala from 125 metres away.
She is rewarded by a "chuck it" tennis ball, followed by treats and pats.
