05/29/2026
How awesome for a Conservation K9!
Meet Blue! 🐾
Thanks to support from Grand Canyon Conservancy, Grand Canyon National Park is welcoming a new four-legged member to the wildlife management team. “Blue,” a trained Conservation K-9, is helping wildlife staff reduce human-wildlife conflicts in busy areas of the South Rim.
Blue is a certified Catahoula Leopard Hound trained to safely haze habituated elk and bighorn sheep away from developed areas where close interactions with visitors can become dangerous for both people and wildlife. Using barking and herding pressure — while always leashed and under handler control — Blue helps encourage wildlife to return to more natural habitat and behavior.
Blue officially began field operations on May 18 and will primarily work in high visitor-use areas including the El Tovar Complex, Grand Canyon Visitor Center, Maswik Lodge, Mather Campground services area, and the Grand Canyon School.
This new Conservation K-9 Pilot Project is part of a science-based effort to improve visitor safety, reduce wildlife conflicts, and help keep wildlife wild.
Learn more about Blue and Conservation K9 Program here: www.nps.gov/articles/000/conservation-k9-blue.htm
📷 NPS Photo
