Stories from the Aaranyak K9 Units

A K9 assistant and his handler were stationed at Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in May 2025. On 27th May 2025, at around 6:20 AM, the Divisional Forest Officer alerted the K9 unit about suspected poacher activity in the area. Given the urgency of the situation, a forest patrol team, along with a K9 assistant and his handler, was immediately deployed to the site to investigate and secure the area. Upon arrival, the K9 assistant was tasked with tracking potential poacher presence.

The K9 assistant meticulously searched the area and picked up a suspicious scent trail. Following the trail, the K9 assistant led the team toward where a piece of cloth suspected of being linked to poachers was recovered. This find indicated recent human movement in the vicinity, suggesting that poachers had been scouting or attempting to enter the area. The operation was not without risk, as the patrol team and the K9 assistant encountered multiple rhinos during their search, adding to the challenges of navigating the terrain safely. Despite this, the K9 assistant continued tracking for approximately 2 kilometers beyond the initial discovery point, ensuring that no further threats or poacher traces remained in the vicinity.

The successful operation not only resulted in recovering a possible clue connected to the suspected poachers but also demonstrated the deterrent effect of the K9 unit’s presence in vulnerable zones of the park. By tracking and securing the area, the K9 assistant played a crucial role in preventing potential wildlife crime. This case highlights the significance of deploying trained K9 units in high-risk areas to strengthen anti-poaching patrols and enhance wildlife protection.

Help us support the care and training of these hardworking and talented dogs and trainers!

We are grateful for the efforts of these teams in India. Their efforts and successes are helping to protect wildlife of all kinds in India. 

Thank you to all partners! 
YOU can HELP make a difference for elephants in Asia by donating HERE!

Project K9 Fundraiser

Beautiful Belgian Malinois sniffer dog

AES is launching Project K9, a GoFundMe campaign aimed at raising funds for Aaranyak’s working dogs, which play a crucial role in preventing wildlife trafficking for various species, including Asian elephants.
 
Aaranyak is a leading wildlife conservation organization located in Assam, India. They specialize in the conservation of diverse wildlife, including rhinos, tigers, Asian elephants, gibbons, birds, amphibians, and reptiles, as well as habitat restoration and counter-wildlife trafficking efforts in northeastern India. Assam, along with Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, and West Bengal, shares international borders where illicit wildlife trafficking occurs. These borders serve as illegal trade routes for Indian wildlife and wildlife sourced from neighboring countries.
 

For the past three decades, Aaranyak has been actively involved in wildlife crime prevention. The organization operates K9 sniffer dog units, which are composed of trained Belgian Malinois. These dogs assist wildlife officials and law enforcement agencies in various terrains, helping with area dominance and crime scene investigations. Aaranyak's K9 sniffer dog program began in 2011 with one unit and has since expanded to seven working dog units stationed in protected areas.

One of Aaranyaks trained K9 Units

We invite you to donate to Project K9 today to ensure that the K9 sniffer units receive the necessary funds to care for the working dogs. Your support will also help provide handler workshops and education to combat the illegal wildlife trade effectively.
 
 
https://www.gofundme.com/f/project-k9-by-asian-elephant-support

Community Based Solar Fence Update

With the help of AES, the Wildlife Conservation Foundation (WCF) completed one more phase of their project titled “Community Based Solar Fence to Mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict and Promote Co-existence” helping farmers living adjacent to Bandipur National Park in India. This phase of solar fencing work is now completed and the farming community on the boundary of the National Park is now able to successfully harvest their crops as elephants in the area no longer raid due to the fencing!

The WCF field staff are currently overseeing the energizer and battery for the solar fencing until the farmers are completely trained on how to use the equipment. Helping local communities protect their crops develops increased tolerance of wildlife. Since the project was started, no elephant deaths due to electrocution or human deaths due to elephants have been reported.

Help AES fund more essential human-elephant conflict projects, just like this one, by donating today! www.asianelephantsupport.org/donate

Solar Fencing in India

Our friends at Wildlife Conservation Foundation in India recently sent us an update to their “Community Based Solar Fence to Mitigate Elephant-Human-Wildlife Conflict and Promote Co-existence” project. They have completed the first phase of 2 kilometers (2000 meters) of solar fencing. Solar panel installation, an alternate power source, energizer and testing has also been completed. Soon field staff will be training and passing off fence operations to selected beneficiary families and there may be an additional kilometer of fence that could be built soon!

Community Fencing near Bandipur, National Park, India

Since 2021, AES has supported a project to set up a community power fence for farmers living adjacent to Bandipur National Park in India. This project was implemented by the Wildlife Conservation Foundation.

Battery and fencing to protect farm crops
This farming community near Bandipur National Park is now able to successfully harvest their crops because elephants in the area no longer raid due to the fencing. Helping local communities protect their crops develops increased tolerance of wildlife. Since this project started, there have been no elephant deaths due to electrocution and no human deaths due to elephants reported.

Beneficiaries of the community fencing
Due to the success of this project and commitment of the local communities, another round of funding for this project was recently approved. Thanks to the efforts of the Wildlife Conservation Foundation and your support farmers in Bandipur, India are finding better ways to coexist with elephants.

Asia EEHV Meeting - Guwahati, Assam, India

International Seminar on Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus (EEHV)

4th Asia Working Group Meeting

Guwahati, Assam, India

Nov 28-30, 2019

EEHV is a serious and deadly threat facing the global elephant population both in captivity and in the wild specifically to the young. This has prompted the formation of working groups to focus on understanding this disease and working towards treatments and vaccines needed to help save the elephant population. In 2015 the 1st Asian Working Group was formed. This last November, the 4th Asian Working Group held an international seminar on EEHV in Guwahati, Assam, in northeastern India, home to 2/3 of India’s elephants.

AES has been a supporter of fighting EEHV and was proud to be one of the sponsors for this workshop organized by Dr.s Kushal Konwar Sarma of the Faculty of Veterinary Science , AAU Khanapara and Sonja Luz of Wildlife Reserves Singapore. There were representatives from all (but 2 : Sumatra and Cambodia) of the Asian elephant range countries and included presenters from Japan, China and Pakistan. AES also provided funding for three AES grant recipient veterinarians to present about EEHV in their respective countries: Dr. Amir Sadula (Nepal), Dr. Zaw Min Oo (Myanmar) and Dr. Vijitha Perera (Sri Lanka). Unfortunately AES President Linda Reifschneider was unable to attend the conference so AES Secretary Janet Dray represented AES. There was much for Janet to learn there about the projects and people that AES supports as well as the conditions, attitudes and culture differences among the many areas where Asian elephants reside.

The workshop organizers packed each of the three days full of activities that included allowing each region/country to present their status of EEHV and for international scientists to show their latest findings and recommendations on detecting and treating the disease. In addition, the Thailand Task Force presented their findings as well as the forms they use to collect data. One recommendation from the Assam workshop was for India to form its own Task Force.

Other activities included a panel discussion including the Forest Dept. and WWF on Human Elephant Conflict. This is a serious problem in Assam and emphasizes one of the different factors in considering elephant welfare that is not an issue for the Western world. The workshop also included several of Assam’s traditions through formal presentations, receiving a Gamosa (a typical woven cotton with embroidery), music and dance presentations.

The last day of the workshop was a field trip to Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary where in addition to a jeep ride through the reserve to see wild Asian one-horned rhinos, Dr.s Kushal and Parikhit taught the graduate veterinarians about treating elephants at the mahout camp there, including foot car, feces analysis, injections, and reviewing the elephants medical records.

Not only did this workshop fulfill its mission of gathering veterinarians and researchers around Asia (as well as the UK and the USA) to share information on EEHV, it included an incredible place to visit, an amazing opportunity to connect with AES grant recipients from India, Sri Lanka, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Nepal, and an invaluable experience regarding Asian elephants living in their native ranges.