Extinction .in

Rangers in the Democratic Republic of

Congo's Virunga park have a new weapon in their fight against poachers.

National Park authorities have trained five bloodhound dogs to track elephant

poachers after a spate of incidents.

The first investigation using the dogs was carried out last week and led to

the discovery of illegal weapons.

Poaching is one of the key threats to the animals in Virunga, a Unesco World

Heritage Site in the war-torn eastern region of DR Congo.

The park is also home to gorillas, chimpanzees, okapi, forest elephants and

buffalo, among other wildlife. Some 300 rangers protect the park from poachers,

rebel groups and illegal miners.

'Effective weapon'

Park authorities now hope the bloodhound programme, which was implemented

with help from a specialised Swiss centre and volunteers from the German police,

will help to protect the vulnerable elephant population from ivory poachers.

The dogs and their handlers got the chance to put their training into action

on 1 March, when rangers spotted a dead elephant with its tusks cut off on the

edge of Virunga.

They deployed two of the bloodhounds by helicopter, along with a specially

trained ranger unit.

The dogs tracked the poachers' scent for seven kilometres (four miles),

leading to a small fishing village.

After patrolling the area, rangers encountered a group of poachers who fled

after opening fire, leaving their weapons behind.

Emmanuel de Merode, the Virunga National Park's chief warden, said: "We are

extremely pleased with the outcome. After a year of intensive training, both the

hounds and the rangers proved to be a very effective weapon against ivory

poachers."

Park rangers will continue to work with the canine unit as part of a wider

European Union-funded project to protect wildlife in a park officials say is

heavily infiltrated by armed groups.