SAB Environmental Media Awards 2016
Winner Photography Award (Print and Online)
Photographer: Kim Ludbrook

Instructor and dog handler, Lucas Mosana (R) and his dog, Delta, and another instructor and his dog sleep in their oversized sleeping bags together in the bush during a night time training exercise at the Battle Creek K9 training facility near Rustenburg, South Africa, 24 May 2016. The handlers and dogs can operate alone for up to three days in the bush while on anti-poaching operations. The handler carries the dog's food and water as well as his own and they both sleep together in sleeping bag at nights. The secret training camp Battle Creek is located in the African bush, two hours from Johannesburg. An initiative of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation sees dogs and handlers being trained in using Special Forces techniques to try to stem the tide of poaching that has seen thousands of rhinos and other endangered animals killed in South Africa and other African countries over the past decade. Dogs and handlers are drilled to find firearms or contraband, track suspects in the undergrowth and abseil in harnesses from helicopters in pursuit of poachers. EPA/KIM LUDBROOK

An ex-special forces soldier and now anti-poaching dog handler jumps out of a helicopter with his dog into a dam while attempting to apprehend a suspected poacher during training at the Battle Creek K9 training facility near Rustenburg, South Africa, 26 November 2014. The handlers and dogs are flown into areas where rhinos have been recently poached to try to follow any scent from the poachers as soon as possible in order to help track down and arrest the poachers. Dogs are the most effective way to track poachers in the bush. The secret training camp Battle Creek is located in the African bush, two hours from Johannesburg. An initiative of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation sees dogs and handlers being trained in using Special Forces techniques to try to stem the tide of poaching that has seen thousands of rhinos and other endangered animals killed in South Africa and other African countries over the past decade. Dogs and handlers are drilled to find firearms or contraband, track suspects in the undergrowth and abseil in harnesses from helicopters in pursuit of poachers. EPA/KIM LUDBROOK

A dog attacks an instructor while students and other instructors look on during training at the Battle Creek K9 training facility near Rustenburg, South Africa, 24 May 2016. Dogs are trained on a reward basis; once a dog has completed a task it is rewarded with 'play' time, except for the attack procedures. Dogs are used at game reserve entry points to sniff out weapons and poached animal produces and are also trained in attack procedures. The secret training camp Battle Creek is located in the African bush, two hours from Johannesburg. An initiative of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation sees dogs and handlers being trained in using Special Forces techniques to try to stem the tide of poaching that has seen thousands of rhinos and other endangered animals killed in South Africa and other African countries over the past decade. Dogs and handlers are drilled to find firearms or contraband, track suspects in the undergrowth and abseil in harnesses from helicopters in pursuit of poachers. EPA/KIM LUDBROOK

Instructor Elliot Moseselane (L), 32, lies in the bush with his dog, Alpha during a simulated ambush as he and Alpha wear snipers ghillie suits during training at the Battle Creek K9 training facility near Rustenburg, South Africa, 24 May 2016. Handlers and their dogs patrol for up to three days in the bush and use the ghillie suits to blend into the surrounding bush. The secret training camp Battle Creek is located in the African bush, two hours from Johannesburg. An initiative of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation sees dogs and handlers being trained in using Special Forces techniques to try to stem the tide of poaching that has seen thousands of rhinos and other endangered animals killed in South Africa and other African countries over the past decade. Dogs and handlers are drilled to find firearms or contraband, track suspects in the undergrowth and abseil in harnesses from helicopters in pursuit of poachers. EPA/KIM LUDBROOK

Instructor and dog handler Lucas Mosana and his dog, Delta sit quietly in the bush as he and another handler take part in a training exercise at the Battle Creek K9 training facility near Rustenburg, South Africa, 24 May 2016. The secret training camp Battle Creek is located in the African bush, two hours from Johannesburg. An initiative of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation sees dogs and handlers being trained in using Special Forces techniques to try to stem the tide of poaching that has seen thousands of rhinos and other endangered animals killed in South Africa and other African countries over the past decade. Dogs and handlers are drilled to find firearms or contraband, track suspects in the undergrowth and abseil in harnesses from helicopters in pursuit of poachers. EPA/KIM LUDBROOK