K9 Killer was a

Belgian Malinois The Belgian Shepherd (also known as the Belgian Sheepdog, Belgian Malinois, or the Chien de Berger Belge) is a Dog breed, breed of medium-sized herding dog from Belgium. While predominantly considered a single breed, it is bred in four disti ...

dog that worked with the

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends from north to south and from ea ...

's Special Operations team to apprehend

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

poachers in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. On 6 January 2016, he was awarded a

PDSA Gold Medal __NOTOC__ The PDSA Gold Medal is an animal bravery award that acknowledges the bravery and devotion to duty of animals. It was created by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) in 2001, and is now recognised as the animal equivalent o ...

for his anti-poaching work. Amos Mzimba is the owner of K9 Killer. K9 Killer died June 5, 2020, accompanied by Mzimba.

Breed background

The

, a working class dog, can be employed for personal protection and scent tracking. They must receive

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...

so they can channel their high energy drive to tasks that their owners have given them. When Belgian Malinois are young, they require a lot of stimuli from their surroundings so that they can get used to them as they grow older. The Belgian Malinois is a Belgian herding breed that originated from a small town in Belgium called Malines. The other name for a Belgian Malinois is the Chien de Berger (Bair-zhai) Belge (Belzh). This lively and energetic breed can be family friendly with the proper training and care. It can suffer from health problems, like most other breeds, including diseases like retinal atrophy, and hip and elbow dysplasia. Because of its energy and intelligence, the breed was enlisted in World War I.

Origins

K9 Killer's lineage can be followed to the

Iraq war {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and the

Belgian Police Law enforcement in Belgium is conducted by an integrated police service structured on the federal and local levels, made up of the Federal Police and the Local Police. Both forces are autonomous and subordinate to different authorities, but link ...

. His father had parents that served for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. His mother was bred from two Belgian police dogs and was entered into an exchange program and sent to

Canine duties in Kruger National Park

canines (trained dogs) are used for tracking and apprehending

poachers Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

. This work includes scent detection of

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s and illegal animal parts. Once

suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U ...

s have been detected in the park, K9 Killer is loaded into a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

and flown to a drop off location. As of the last 4 years K9 Killer has led to the arrest of 115 poachers in Kruger National Park. In order for K9 Killer to remain on the scent trails of humans he had to be introduced to the scents of animals in Kruger National Park at a young age. This two-year training program desensitized K9 Killer to the smells of animals. Kruger National Park suffers from rhinoceros poaching almost daily. Rhinoceros poaching has increased from 13 poached rhinos in 2007 to 1,215 in 2014. K9 Killer and Amos Mzimba have aided in the arrests of more than 115 rhinoceros poachers illegally hunting within the park grounds.

Awards

The

was awarded to K9 Killer in January 2016 for his fight against

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

. Through the protection of human and animal life, animals must show dedication to their duties in order to receive the honour.

References

{{reflist Individual dogs Animal rights Kruger National Park

Breed background

Origins

Canine duties in Kruger National Park

Awards

See also

References