K9 Wildlife Detection Team

OSP K9 TEAM

wildlife detection

"Poaching offenses, hunting while trespassing, any unlawful take of an animal - or attempt to take unlawfully - whether it's fish or whether it's deer, elk, bear - we will go after.

Buck's nose is instrumental in helping find people who might be missing in the woods, or tracking a human scent connected to a wildlife crime. So his nose is the biggest asset that we have with him, he can smell things differently and to a greater value than we can."

Trooper Josh Wolcott | Oregon State Police

KPTV-KPDX Broadcasting, 2019

sniffing out crime

More about Wildlife K-9 programs
 Studies have shown that a well-trained dog can save up to 800 personnel hours per year
 The scenting ability of a dog are significant; allowing them to quickly find concealed evidence

Appropriately Trained Detection Dogs
 Detect firearms and associated odors
 Find illegally taken wildlife and related evidence
 Assist in the arrest of suspects, and
 Perform valuable educational demonstrations and programs depending on their deployment objectives, detection dog teams may be trained to locate waterfowl, bear, bear gallbladder, deer, elk, abalone, or quagga mussel

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Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Division is proud to welcome K-9 Buck to our team. Buck is a 3-year-old yellow Labrador, and his official title is Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Conservation K-9. Buck is the first wildlife detection K-9 in the state of Oregon. He and his handler, Trooper Josh Wolcott, work out of the Oregon State Police Springfield Area Command, but can be deployed anywhere in Oregon as needed to help solve Fish & Wildlife crimes.

Buck and Trooper Wolcott recently graduated from a specialized training academy in Indiana, where they trained alongside other Fish & Wildlife human and K-9 officers from around the US. Buck has been trained to do three separate tasks. First, he can track humans to include lost or missing persons, poachers or trespassers. Buck can also detect the scent of wildlife species that he has been specifically trained on, such as deer and waterfowl. Lastly, Buck can conduct area searches to locate anything associated with a firearm, as well as anything with human scent.

Oregon State Police partnered with Oregon Wildlife Foundation to purchase Buck in November, 2018. Oregon Wildlife Foundation is also sponsoring his training, equipment, and upkeep. OSP would like to thank Oregon Wildlife Foundation for their sponsorship and support of our Fish & Wildlife K-9 program.