Meet Diego, the Dog that Hunts Rhino Poachers

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Meet Diego, the Dog that Hunts Rhino Poachers

A rhino refuge in Kenya strapped a GoPro to its anti-poaching dog.

While poachers are finding new, crueler ways to kill endangered species, poacher hunters are finding more creative ways to catch poachers. For instance, sticking cameras into rhino horns. Lab-grown horns. Pepper spraying them using drones. All of these involve relatively expensive tech, especially for countries lacking the coffers to give to conservation. But what about dogs?

Diego is an anti-poaching dog from the Ol Pejeta Conservatory in Kenya, the sanctuary for the last male northern white rhino. In the video above, we get an adrenaline-fueled look into what it looks like to catch a poacher via a GoPro attached to Diego's back as he jumps through puddles, hills, downed trees, and other hurdles in pursuit of a decoy poacher.

National Geographic assures us that fewer dogs are harmed than humans in the poacher poaching trade. I certainly don't doubt that, after watching him zip effortlessly through the fields to latch onto that decoy poacher.