He tracked down over 60 poachers and followed a blood trail for 1.5 km: Meet Zorba, the dog who protected Assam’s rhinos

In the forests of Assam’s Kaziranga National Park, where one-horned rhinoceroses have long faced the threat of poaching, one of the most determined members of the anti-poaching force had four legs, a sharp nose and an extraordinary instinct for following a trail. His name was Zorba, a Belgian Malinois who helped forest officials track down more than 60 poachers during his career.

From recovering crucial evidence from a pond to following the blood trail of an injured suspect for nearly 1.5 km, the canine became an unlikely but formidable ally in the fight to protect India’s wildlife.Zorba, who was part of Aaranyak’s K9 unit, India's first dog squad dedicated to wildlife crime, died in Guwahati on November 21, 2022, aged 12. His death marked the end of an extraordinary career that had taken him through some of Assam’s most important wildlife habitats.

Yet, for the conservationists and handlers who worked alongside him, he was much more than a trained sniffer dog.