Arrow’s high-flying adventures
Two-year-old Arrow, was recently recognised as the world’s first sky-diving anti-poaching dog by Guinness World Records.
The last seven years have seen the elephant population fall by almost a third, and rhino poaching reach epidemic proportions, with around 1 200 rhinos being killed in 2014 and 2015 in South Africa alone.
To combat this growing problem, the special Paramount Group’s Anti-Poaching and K9 Academy based in Rustenburg was born.
Arrow the German Shepherd is part of this special dog unit trained to combat Africa’s poaching crisis.
Two-year-old Arrow was recently recognised as the world’s first sky-diving anti-poaching dog by Guinness World Records.
He made his maiden jump with handler Henry Holsthyzen at the Waterkloof Airforce Base on the outskirts of Pretoria.
Arrow was specially selected as a puppy for his temperament and trained to descend from a helicopter by rope, strapped to Holsthyzen, and finally, to skydive.
His skydiving expertise hinges on his close relationship with his handler and since Arrow was a puppy the two have eaten, slept, and worked together in order to develop the inseparable bond needed to carry out high-pressure anti-poaching tasks together.
Arrow is one of nearly 200 other specially bred and trained K9s at the Anti-Poaching and Canine Training Academy run by Paramount Group, the African-based defence and aerospace company that manufactures aircraft, armoured vehicles, naval vessels and UAVs for governments around the world.
“With my knowledge of Arrow – knowing him, and knowing his personality – it gave me a good idea of what to expect and he acted accordingly.
“He’s a natural-born skydiver and an adrenaline junkie, and I often found I was more scared than he was.
“I jumped out of the helicopter and it was just natural for him to follow me.
“I rely on him and in turn he relies on me, and I’m willing to go into battle with him because I trust him,” Holsthyzen said.
Trust forms the basis of the relationship between handler and the K9, and this enables their relationship to excel.
The Paramount Anti-Poaching and K9 Academy is the culmination of six years of active involvement by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation and Paramount Group in anti-poaching initiatives, and is one of the largest of its kind in Africa.
Eric Ichikowitz, Director of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, explained more about the project, “In some cases we have to insert the canine into a difficult situation with the poachers or a challenging environment, such as a forest or mountainous regions.
“The parachute helps engage them quietly.
“At any one stage we have a large number of K9s at various stages of development, enabling us to develop on each K9s unique capabilities as identified and tracked from infancy through adolescence.
“The large pool enables us to select optimal pairings between handlers and dogs, and to experiment with combinations,” he said.
The Paramount Anti-Poaching and K9 Academy addresses the ever-increasing need for the training of conservation officers in anti-poaching activities, wildlife contraband detection, specialist K9 solutions and ranger K9 handler training, all of which have proven success rates in combatting and apprehending poachers.
