Texas hounds chase down rhino poachers in South Africa
Dogs trained to run free in packs are revolutionizing anti-poaching efforts in Kruger National Park.
Kruger National Park, South AfricaTwo years ago, Joe Braman was living a regular family life with his wife and two daughters on his remote ranch in southern Texas. A part time cop, businessman, and cowboy, he’d never given a thought to the rhino poaching crisis in South Africa. But in May 2018, Braman and his free-running hounds were sprinting across the acacia plains close to Kruger National Park chasing armed rhino poachers.
To date since then, according to authorities, his hounds have helped law enforcement teams in the greater Kruger region catch an unprecedented 145 poachers and confiscate 53 guns, boosting the overall rate of successful arrests and providing a new strategy to fight poaching in Africa.
“Just think about it,” Braman says. “If you spun