Koala Detection Dog Named Bear Saves Injured Koalas

Meet the goodest boy we know of right now -- Bear!

Bear is a koala detection dog. That is his job. And since the fires started raging in Australia this past September, Bear has been hard at work scouring the Earth for koalas.

Bear is a blue-eyed border collie/koolie mix who works with the University of Sunshine Coast (USC) Detection Dogs for Conservation. Bears job is to sniff out sick, orphaned and injured koalas across New South Wales and Queensland (both of which had taken on the fires rampage the hardest).

According to the USC site, Bear was rescued from a shelter and has an endless supply of energy, an obsessive nature, and is completely uninterested in humans -- which turns out doesn't make for a great pet, but they're the exact qualities he needs to locate and track koalas. (Sometimes he looks for other marsupials, like the endangered Northern quoll.)

USC Detection Dogs for Conservation Senior Research Dr. Celine Frere said in a news release, "Bear is highly focused and brilliant at focusing on one thing – his ball which is his reward, which makes him perfectly suited for the job. He also has zero prey drive which is essential for a wildlife detection dog as they need to focus purely on the scent and not the animal, ultimately ignoring the animal."

Bear was trained by USC academic and also works in partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

Story via Mother Nature Network

Posted by AmyBrown

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"Bear has helped us locate sick and injured koalas and has recently been called to search for koalas in habitats ravaged by fires. --

"Because they can smell what we can't see, dogs can be used to track rare animals, detect pest species and locate threatened native plants, so they have such an important role to play in conservation," Dr. Celine Frere says.

Via Mother Nature Network / Meghan Halverson/IFAW
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Not only is the world praising Bear, a few celebs has noticed this pup -- one of which said "This is a Disney movie that must be made"

Via Mother Nature Network / Meghan Halverson/IFAW
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When Tom Hanks read this tweet posted by @WeRateDogs, he knew Bear's story had to be made into a Disney film.

"This is a Disney movie that must be made – the story of Bear, the koala detection dog," Hanks said. "That's adorable. I like Bear."
Around the same time, another major star praised Bear, Leonardo DiCaprio posted a World Economic Forum video on Instagram that included Bear's work.

Via @dog_rates
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In a post on Facebook, Detection Dogs for Conservation wrote, "I am still unsure whether this is due to his awesome blue eyes, attractive red booties, or his heart warming story from abandoned dog to super star (it's the red booties though, right????) -

but I do need to acknowledge there are so many more amazing people doing so much more for wildlife right now, and that deserve all the recognition in the world."
Thank you Bear, you are a hero!

Via Mother Nature Network / Meghan Halverson/IFAW
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Via Detection Dogs For Conservation