Following in Bear’s famous pawprints, a two-year-old rescue Koolie is in fast-track training to save wildlife this fire season.
A new four-legged conservation hero is in training, with a rescue dog preparing to follow in the iconic pawprints of world-famous koala detection dog Bear.
Following the retirement of 11-year-old Bear earlier this year, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Innovation for Conservation (I4C) launched a nationwide search for a new canine hero. The chosen dog will be trained to search for live koalas in need of rescue, filling the critical void left behind when Bear hung up his signature red fire-protective boots.
The call-out in May attracted global attention, drawing more than 50 applications from across Australia—primarily Queensland—and even a very enthusiastic applicant from South Carolina in the United States. The applicant pool represented a diverse range of breeds, from Jack Russells and Corgis to Belgian Shepherds and Cattle Dogs, with working breeds like Kelpies and Border Collies topping the list.
Among the applicants was Oaka, a two-year-old Australian Koolie from northern New South Wales, who stood out to evaluators immediately.
"We didn't know it would be possible to find a new Bear. He was truly one of a kind and left big boots to fill, but then along came Oaka," said IFAW Oceania Head of Programs Josey Sharrad.
“Bear showed the world what's possible when a rescue dog is given a second chance and finds its true purpose. I see that same spark in Oaka.”
A Second Chance at Purpose
Oaka’s backstory mirrors Bear’s own journey. She was surrendered after her previous family considered her too energetic to handle. However, local rescue group DM Rescue and trainer Avery Keller recognised her latent potential and submitted an application following the public call-out.
Evaluators assessed around 13 dogs in total—testing candidate dogs from local rescue groups such as the Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge and Peninsula Animal Aid—both in person and via video evaluations. The team searched for specific criteria: medium size (small enough to carry if injured, large enough for tough terrain), high energy, non-aggressive behaviour, and a hyper-fixation on play.
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| High energy, agility, and intense drive made Oaka a standout candidate during field assessments |
Oaka’s video submission justified a 10-hour round trip from Coffs Harbour for in-person testing on the Sunshine Coast.
"When we saw her in person, we could tell immediately that she was different," said Innovation for Conservation director, trainer, and handler Russell Miller.
“She had this obsession with the ball that was that little bit extra. Her concentration was a bit more intense, with a strong motivation to get her reward. Within minutes of seeing her in action, we knew we had struck gold.”
"Oaka being an Australian Koolie like Bear has the perfect breeding for this type of work," Miller added. "She can already easily search the area and recover her ball—now we have to transfer this into the search for the odour of the koala fur."
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| Dog handler Associate Professor Romane Cristescu with Oaka, who is being trained as IFAW and Innovation for Conservation’s potential new koala detection dog, resting with her prized blue ball reward after a successful search exercise. |
The Physics of Sniffing High Targets
Training a dog to detect live koalas canopy-high in trees is an intricate process, vastly more complex than training a scat-detection dog.
Because koalas sit motionless high up in the treetops, their primary scent stream does not drop straight down to the base of the trunk. Thermal currents and wind drift often carry the scent meters away from the tree, forcing the dog to track invisible scent plumes back to their overhead source.
To master this, Oaka undergoes twice-daily training sessions. Initial modules focus on search efficiency and ball-finding confidence. Trainers then introduce target odour association, pairing the scent of fresh koala fur with her ball reward. Gradually, the fur is hidden at increasing distances and elevated off the ground to mimic canopy conditions. Ultimately, Oaka is taught to execute a formal alert: dropping to lie down at the base of the exact tree where the scent originates.
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| With a 100% play drive and zero prey drive, Oaka stays entirely focused on her ball reward while searching through dense bushland, ignoring local wildlife. |
To fast-track her development, Oaka is training under IFAW’s Director of Canine Units, Frédéric Chappée, a expert with over 20 years of experience who has pioneered a distance-learning program combining remote tracking with periodic in-person evaluations.
"When I'm looking for a new detection dog, I can assess up to 100 dogs, but we found Oaka within a week," Chappée said. "For many people around the world, Bear became an icon, but what makes Bear truly unique is not only what he achieved, but the void he left behind. It’s a void that I am hopeful Oaka can fill."
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| IFAW’s Frédéric Chappée and Associate Professor Romane Cristescu working with Oaka during a field training session. |
While anti-poaching dogs trained by Chappée in Indonesia and Zimbabwe can be field-ready in six months, canopy search demands extra time. Bear’s training took two years before his legendary deployment during the 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires, where he helped locate over 100 live koalas in burnt habitats—earning praise from international figures like Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.
Preparing for the Seasons Ahead
With El Niño climate patterns bringing heightened fire risks, the team is working rapidly to prepare Oaka for field deployment.
“We are fast-tracking her training because we know how critical it is to have a highly skilled koala detection dog back in the field,” Sharrad explained.
"With El Niño already here and a tough summer on the horizon, our koalas will need all the help they can get."
Koalas are notoriously difficult for human eyes to spot; they are quiet, still, and expertly camouflaged. Combined with thermal-camera drones, detection dogs drastically raise rescue success rates following bushfires, floods, or vehicle strikes.
Fuelled by nutrition partner Lyka, Oaka will soon begin testing in real-life scenarios. IFAW and I4C remain optimistic that she will be capable of assisting during the upcoming fire season, even while completing her full certification.
As for Bear? The veteran is enjoying retirement on the Sunshine Coast with plenty of beach walks, belly rubs, and daytime naps—while keeping a watchful eye on his successor.
Updates on Oaka’s progress and her upcoming television project can be followed on Instagram via @ifawglobal and @bearthekoaladog.
All photos: Suzanne Pearson / © IFAW (supplied)
