Help Bear the Courageous K9 Save Koalas

Meet Bear, the CourageousK9 who works to save koalas. Bear started life with an unfortunate, all-too-common backstory. Purchased as a puppy, his family was disheartened to discover that his high energy and extreme toy-drive was too much for them to handle. Luckily for Bear, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), in partnership with the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), rescued and trained Bear as a koala detection dog. Bear's not interested in hunting wildlife (prey drive), but super interested in toys (play drive), which made him an ideal candidate as a conservation dog.

Koalas are in crisis. The koala population has been devastated by habitat destruction, bushfires, and disease. In order to protect this cute, lovable creature, we need more information about them. Koalas spend up to 18 hours a day high up in trees and are extremely difficult to monitor and estimate population trends. It is critical we use rapid, accurate, and cost-effective methods to monitor the population and better understand threats so we can protect this unique species.

Dogs are faster and more effective than human spotters in finding evidence of koalas and their scat (feces). In training dogs to do this vital job, not only are koalas located more frequently and faster, but dogs like Bear get a second chance to live a life filled with satisfying work that fits their personality. Bear's human team and their colleagues then analyze koala health and distribution, and koala populations in need of help and intervention are identified, cared for, and protected.

You can help! Your donation provides ongoing support to deploy Bear and his canine teammates to help protect koalas!

IFAW's mission is to rescue and protect animals around the world.