Special Dogs Assist in Wild Tiger Conservation Efforts in Cambodia

A female tiger, Neang Sros, gapes while her taking a rest at the Tuek Chhou Zoo in Kampot province, some 150 kilometers south of the Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Photo: AP)

In the Asian zodiac, this is the year of the tiger but conservationists say wild tiger populations are quickly disappearing. In Cambodia, there is hope that a pair of special dogs from the United States can help save the tiger.

22 February 2010
By Daniel Schearf, VOA
Mondulkiri, Cambodia

In Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia conservationists estimate hunting and poaching have reduced tiger numbers to fewer than 30 in each country.

In eastern Cambodia's Mondulkiri Protected Forest, conservationists have brought in unique specialists to track down the few remaining tigers.

Sadie May and Scooby Doo are black Labrador retrievers. They are part of Conservation Canines, a project at the University of Washington in the U.S. that trains dogs to sniff for wild animal feces - also called scat.

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