'Hero' Australian dog who saved 100 koalas retires
SYDNEY, Australia — An Australian dog credited with saving over 100 koalas from bushfires is retiring after a decade of service.
Bear, an 11-year-old Australian Koolie, was one of the first dogs in the country to be trained on the scent of koala fur.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare called using dogs to detect koalas a "novel" approach.
"No one knew if it could be done," IFAW head of programmes Josey Sharrad wrote in a statement about Bear on Monday.
As a pup, the four-legged hero's boundless energy made it tough to stay indoors, but he found his true potential in the bush.
"He literally went from chewing the walls of a Gold Coast apartment to roaming through the Aussie bush on a mission to save our most iconic species," Sharrad said.
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Bear's skills saved over 100 koalas as the Black Summer bushfires raged across Australia's eastern seaboard from late 2019 to early 2020, razing millions of hectares, destroying thousands of homes and blanketing cities in noxious smoke.
The tail-wagging detective with a "joyful and goofy" personality retires with an extensive list of accolades — including an Animal of the Year award and Puppy Tales Photos Australian Dog of the Year award.
He also features in a "dogumentary" called "Bear: Koala Hero", and in a book, "Bear to the Rescue."
Bear will embark on a slower-paced chapter on the Sunshine Coast with one of his former handlers, getting belly rubs and playing his favourite game, fetch.
One of his former handlers, Romane Cristescu, said Bear had been a "tireless ambassador for koalas for a decade."
"He melted hearts all around the world, and opened many doors so we could have critical and difficult conversations about climate change and its impacts on the threatened koalas, as well as so many other species."
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