Two Sniffer Dogs Might Have Just Found a Lost Population of Critically Endangered Rhinos

Yagi and Quinn identified scat that was likely left by a Sumatran rhinoceros in Indonesia’s Way Kambas National Park, where scientists thought the animals had disappeared

Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent

September 3, 2025

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Meet Yagi and Quinn, a pair of very good dogs who might have just discovered an elusive population of critically endangered rhinoceroses.

The highly trained sniffer dogs recently detected scat in Indonesia’s Way Kambas National Park that scientists suspect was left behind by a free-ranging Sumatran rhino, which is one of the most threatened species on the planet.

Conservationists estimate just 34 to 47 individual Sumatran rhinos remain in the wild. For years, scientists thought Sumatran rhinos had disappeared entirely from Way Kambas National Park, because they hadn’t found a single bit of evidence to suggest the creatures were still living there.

They tried everything to find any remaining rhinos, including deploying camera traps, drones and human rangers to look for them. Then, they decided to try one last method—sniffer dogs—just to be sure.

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For the project, conservationists turned to Working Dogs for Conservation, a Montana-based nonprofit that trains and deploys canines to help protect wildlife and wild ecosystems. The collaborative effort on the Indonesian island of Sumatra also involved the International Rhino Foundation, Yayasan Badak Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry.

Working Dogs for Conservation decided Yagi and Quinn were up for the task. Yagi is a male black labrador retriever who came to the organization for a career change: He had trained to be a service dog, but his “boundless energy and big personality didn’t quite match the job,” according to the nonprofit. Quinn is a female cocker spaniel who has been sniffer-training since she was a puppy.

The two dogs, along with their human handlers, traveled more than 8,000 miles to the southern part of Sumatra for their mission, according to an email Working Dogs for Conservation sent to supporters this week.

Building upon months of earlier scent-detection training, the dogs first learned how to identify their target species by sniffing poo from the ten captive rhinos at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, located inside the national park. The dogs trained using scat from males, females and juveniles.

Then, they headed out into the field to get acclimated to their new environment.

“The jungle was a whole new world for them: dense foliage and new plants, thick humid air, unfamiliar wildlife and countless new sounds and smells,” according to the email from Working Dogs for Conservation. “Daily routines included jungle walks full of novel scents [and] watching local macaques swing by in the evenings.”

Once the dogs were ready, they officially started sniffing, taking lots of breaks to cool off and stay hydrated. On just his second day of searching, Yagi found a pile of what appeared to be rhino scat on the ground. Later that same day, Quinn showed a behavior change that suggested a rhino had been in the area.

Scientists performed preliminary DNA testing on the scat, which indicated it belonged to a Sumatran rhino. To be absolutely certain, the Indonesian government is running two more tests, which are underway now.

“Quite honestly, in my opinion, I trust the dogs,” says Nina Fascione, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation, to Mongabay’s Jeremy Hance. “The dogs were trained on rhino’s scat. They found what everybody believes is rhino’s scat. We think it’s really good news.”

If Yagi and Quinn’s noses are right, that means at least one Sumatran rhino is roaming around inside the park. That may not seem like a big deal, but even the discovery of a single animal could be a boon for the species. If they’re able to find it, scientists would likely capture the creature and use it to provide much-needed genetic diversity to the captive, breeding rhinos at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary.

“I’ve never been happier to be wrong about something in my life,” Fascione tells Mongabay. Prior to this discovery, she would have bet money that no more wild rhinos existed in the park. Now, “there are clearly some very reclusive rhinos hanging out,” she adds. “My hope is that there are more of those rhinos in more places than we know of.”

It’s no surprise Yagi and Quinn easily sniffed out clues linked to elusive Sumatran rhinos. While human noses have just five million scent receptors, canines have roughly 220 million, according to Working Dogs for Conservation. Their noses are so powerful that they can detect a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water.

“Where we experience the world visually, dogs perceive a detailed scentscape,” writes the organization.

The group’s sniffer dogs—which wear red vests whenever they’re on the job—have worked on a wide variety of projects around the globe, from searching for invasive plants in Wyoming to investigating illegal poachers in Zambia. They’re also helping scientists monitor black-footed ferrets in South Dakota, Wyoming and Arizona; looking for San Joaquin kit fox scat in California; and sniffing out the Lloyd’s mariposa cactus in Texas, among other initiatives.

“When the dogs see the vest come out, they are so excited,” Breanne Black, outreach and development coordinator for Working Dogs for Conservation, told Cowboy State Daily’s Anna-Louise Jackson in April. “They really enjoy the work.”

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Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.