Meet Blue: Grand Canyon’s New Conservation K-9

"Blue," Grand Canyon National Park Conservation K9 officially began work in May 2026

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Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park may notice a new four-legged member of the wildlife team patrolling parts of the South Rim beginning May 2026. Blue, a specially trained Conservation K-9, is helping park biologists reduce human-wildlife conflicts and encourage elk and bighorn sheep to return to more natural behaviors and habitats.

Supported by Grand Canyon Conservancy, the Conservation K-9 Pilot Project is a three-year wildlife management initiative designed to address a growing challenge at Grand Canyon: habituated wildlife. Over time, some elk and bighorn sheep have become increasingly comfortable around people and developed areas, using Grand Canyon Village and other busy visitor locations as safe zones away from predators such as cougars and coyotes.

While seeing wildlife up close can feel exciting for visitors, these interactions can create serious safety concerns for both people and animals. Habituated wildlife are more likely to block roadways, linger near buildings and trails, approach visitors, and display aggressive behavior during sensitive periods such as calving or rutting season. Animals that repeatedly engage in dangerous behavior may ultimately require removal or euthanasia.

Park wildlife managers hope Blue can help change that.

Unlike traditional hazing methods, the Conservation K-9 program relies on a natural predator cue. Blue, a certified Catahoula Leopard Hound, uses controlled barking and herding pressure to encourage elk and bighorn sheep to move away from developed areas and back toward natural habitat.

“This project gives us a humane, science-based tool to guide wildlife back toward healthy behavior,” said Brady Dunne, Grand Canyon wildlife biologist, project lead, and Blue’s handler. “Our goal is not to push animals out of the park or eliminate opportunities to see wildlife. The goal is to reduce dangerous habituation and help wildlife remain wild.

Visitor interactions with wildlife are dangerous for both people and animals.

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Why the Project Is Needed

Wildlife staff at Grand Canyon have spent decades responding to increasing elk and bighorn activity in heavily visited areas of the South Rim. Studies conducted between 2018 and 2021 confirmed that many elk were using developed areas as core habitat, bedding near lodges, crossing visitor pathways, and spending extended periods near roads and buildings.

At the same time, emergency wildlife callouts involving elk and bighorn sheep steadily increased. Visitors frequently stopped traffic to photograph animals, gathered too closely around wildlife, or unknowingly placed themselves in unsafe situations.

Traditional management tools, including foot hazing and paintball deterrents, have had mixed results and can pose safety concerns for staff and visitors. In some extreme cases, wildlife managers have been forced to lethally remove aggressive animals.

The Conservation K-9 program offers an alternative focused on long-term behavioral change rather than short-term displacement. The project was inspired in part by a successful wildlife shepherding program used at Glacier National Park.

Wildlife Biologist Brady Dunne and Blue help keep wildlife and visitors a safe distance apart near a residential area in Grand Canyon.

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Meet Blue

Blue is a highly trained and certified Catahoula Leopard Hound selected for her strong herding instincts, endurance, trainability, and calm temperament. The breed is known for its intelligence and responsiveness, making it well suited for wildlife management operations. Although Blue plays an active role in hazing operations, visitor safety and animal welfare remain top priorities. Blue is always kept on a leash and under direct handler control. She does not bite or physically contact wildlife. Operations primarily focus on cow elk and female bighorn sheep, which generally present lower risk than bulls or rams.

Blue with several NPS wildlife staff conducting a controlled hazing operation in an exclusion zone.

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How the Program Works and Measuring Success

Wildlife staff monitor several designated “exclusion zones” within Grand Canyon Village where wildlife conflicts have historically occurred most often, including the El Tovar Complex, Grand Canyon Visitor Center, Maswik Lodge, Mather Campground services area, and Grand Canyon School. These zones were selected using years of wildlife movement data, emergency dispatch records, and visitor use patterns. When elk or bighorn sheep enter these areas, trained wildlife staff may temporarily stop vehicle or foot traffic to conduct a controlled hazing operation. Blue then uses barking and herding behavior to pressure animals out of the area. Once wildlife leave the exclusion zone, operations stop and normal visitor activity resumes. The program operates primarily during high-risk seasonal periods, including spring calving season and late summer rut activity.

The Conservation K-9 Pilot Project is also rooted in long-term scientific monitoring and evaluation. In fall 2025, wildlife staff deployed radio collars on nine habituated elk and five habituated bighorn sheep to better understand how animals move through developed areas and how their behavior changes over time. These data are being compared with more than 15 years of wildlife monitoring and emergency callout records. Success will be measured through reduced wildlife presence within exclusion zones, fewer emergency wildlife callouts, fewer hazardous human-wildlife interactions, and changes in wildlife movement and habitat use.

A Community Effort

The project is a collaborative effort involving Grand Canyon wildlife staff and Grand Canyon Conservancy, which provides most of the program’s funding and partnership support.

In addition to hazing operations, the park continues working to reduce wildlife attractants in developed areas by addressing water leaks, improving waste management practices, and modifying landscaping.

Visitors also play an important role in the program’s success. Park staff ask visitors to never approach, feed, haze, or attempt to move wildlife. Human hazing is both dangerous and ineffective. Visitors who observe elk or bighorn sheep lingering in developed areas should notify park staff or dispatch.

Ultimately, the Conservation K-9 Pilot Project aims to create a safer environment for visitors while helping wildlife return to more natural patterns of movement and behavior.