Overview
- IFAW, Innovation for Conservation, and the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Detection Dogs for Conservation opened a nationwide call for a rescue dog to succeed Bear.
- Applicants must be under two years old with intense toy drive, no prey drive, confidence, a gentle temperament, and a medium build.
- In-person testing is underway on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, with video submissions invited from those who cannot attend.
- Training will be led by IFAW canine director Frédéric Chappée using a distance-learning program with periodic in-person assessments to speed readiness.
- Bear retired earlier this year after about a decade finding live koalas, and he is credited with more than 100 rescues during the 2019–2020 Black Summer fires.