By Emer Scully For Mailonline and Xantha Leatham For The Daily Mail
Published: 10:51 BST, 6 April 2019 | Updated: 10:54 BST, 6 April 2019
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The last line of defence for one of the rarest sub-species on Earth is a springer spaniel from Norfolk.
Drum, who is just 10 months old, has been sent to Kenya and spends his days defending the world’s last two remaining northern white rhinos from poachers on the Ol Pejeta reserve.
His everyday jobs include sniffing out guns and ammunition which hunters try to smuggle into the wildlife sanctuary in central Laikipia county.
Drum, who is just 10 months old, has been sent to Kenya and spends his days defending the world’s last two remaining northern white rhinos from poachers on the Ol Pejeta reserve
He was trained by the charity Animals Saving Animals and was hand-picked as an ‘exceptional candidate’ for the role.
The rhino mother and daughter - Najin, 30, and Fatu, 19 - are the last of their sub-species and require round-the-clock protection along with the 150 other rhinos on the reserve.
Alongside Drum, the pair are guarded by watchtowers, fences and radio transmitters which are fitted to the animals.
When Drum arrived at the reserve last week he met his handler John Mamba, a member of the elite anti-poaching unit
Daryll Pleasants, who runs Animals Saving Animals, trained Drum himself and described him as the ‘perfect’ dog for the job.
‘I hand-picked him from a litter when he
