Abstract
African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) populations are difficult to assess
effectively and scalable strategies for population monitoring are
lacking, often because of low detection rates. Scat detection dogs
(Canis lupus familiaris) have emerged as a suitable tool to detect the
presence of wide-ranging carnivores. In this study, we employed a
detection dog to locate African wild dog scat in an unfenced,
understudied region of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation
Area. Over two weeks of fieldwork, the detection dog-team found 21
African wild dog scats across a 2,304 km² study area. Six of those scats
were detected at a marking site shared by multiple African wild dog
individuals, as determined through genetic identification. The marking
site discovered by the scat detection dog facilitated the collaring of
two African wild dogs in close proximity, the repeat detection of wild
dog individuals on camera trap, the collection of additional scat
samples, and the highest recording of individuals per site from camera
traps (n = 5) and genetic verification (n = 5). This highlights the
value of marking sites for improved long-term monitoring for this
elusive species. To our knowledge, we report the first use of a
detection dog to find wild dog scat and discover a marking site, and our
findings hold promise for the potential of detection dogs to rapidly
survey this wide-ranging, endangered canid.