'Rana', a popular member of the dog squad of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, which helped to crack several forest crimes, passed away on Monday night.
The nine-year-old German Shepherd breed dog was suffering from illness for the past one week. The Forest department personnel had treated it at the veterinary hospital in Gundlupet. It suffered from diarrhoea and died on Monday night, according to officials.
The Forest department had inducted Rana into its team for the first time in 2015. Rana, who was trained for 11 months at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, was a nightmare for poachers.
Rana used to detect forest crimes not only in Bandipur, but also in Nagarahole and Kodagu. Rana was capable of detecting crime that was not possible for officials. It used to sense the movement of wild animals from a long distance and was used while rescuing tigers.
As Rana was nearing its retirement age, the officials brought a Mudhol breed puppy to replace Rana. It was trained to detect forest crimes along with Rana.
The department conducted the last rites of Rana with government honours on Tuesday.