Pretoria , South Africa ( CNN ) -- Sniffer dogs in South Africa are being trained to help the fight against poachers of endangered species in a new way . Dogs have long been used to help police find contraband substances , including ivory and rhino horn . However , there are times when it is not practical to use dogs on the ground , as the tarmac at border posts gets too hot for them during the day , or if there could be a danger to the animal . Now researchers at the South African company Mechem are adapting their Explosive and Drug Detection System to the fight against poachers . The technology involves using a vacuum device to suction air from a suspect area . The filter in the vacuum is then given to the dogs to smell , disguised among blank control filters , and the dog 's nose does the rest . Mechem says this technology helps to get round all the problems that sniffer dogs traditionally face by `` taking the odor to the dog rather than taking the dog to the odor . '' Mechem 's Explosive and Drug Detection System was first developed in the 1980s to detect landmines , weapons , ammunition and drugs . It has now been improved and adapted to detect illegal substances taken from protected species . Dogs trained at Mechem are now helping the police where conventional canine units are struggling . Inspector T.C.Oosthuizen , of the South African Police Service , said : `` When we work at Komatipoort for instance , the tarmac is so hot , it starts melting so you ca n't get a dog to work from 12 o'clock in the afternoon . `` And the smugglers , they know about it , so then they know you ca n't bring a dog to the border posts because the dog of course will burn . `` With this machine you take the samples , and give it to the dog in a controlled environment , an air-conditioned facility . It 's cool for the dog so the dog can work longer and more . '' The stakes are high . Poachers are smuggling rhino horn to the lucrative Asian market where it 's thought to have medicinal qualities and can fetch about $ 7,500 a kilo . Conservation groups estimate that there are now only 18,000 rhinos in Africa today , down from 65,000 in the late 1970s . Dr Hannes Slabbert , Mechem 's animal behaviorist and a former police officer , said : `` We can search hundreds of cars and the dog will detect the odor that he was trained on . `` So if the dog is trained on your protected species , or your narcotics , or your explosive detections , when your dog indicates we will know that you would then search for the specific contraband . '' Slabbart said the dog would detect the substance , as long as it had been collected correctly in the vacuum sampler . Mechem is working with the South African police to research the feasibility of rolling the system out to all their canine units . Paul Bester , Colonel in the South African Police Service , said : `` I 'm very excited because it seems that we have a concept there that can work through all our points of entry in South Africa . It can assist all the dog handlers ; make their task a little bit easier for them as well . ''
Technology helps dogs sniff out ivory and rhino horn . It avoids practical problem of using dogs at border posts . Comment: