South Africa enlists help of Belgian Shepherd to find endangered tortoise

A two-year-old Belgian Shepherd named Brin has been called upon by South African conservationists to join efforts in tracking the country’s endangered land-based tortoise. This is the first time that a dog has been enlisted to help with tracking in South Africa. Brin began working late last year to track down the rare tortoise after completing six months of training.

Conservationists believe there are only a few hundred of the tortoises left in the wild, making Brin critical in finding and rescuing the country’s most endangered species of its kind. The tortoise, with a bright yellow and black shell, can be found among the low-lying shrublands of the country’s Western Cape province. Urban development and wheat and wine farming have become major threats to the survival of the tortoise, with all three invading the remaining 90% of the animal’s habitat.