Rangers in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga park have a new weapon in their fight against poachers. National Park authorities have trained five bloodhound dogs to track elephant poachers after a spate of incidents. The first investigation using the dogs was carried out last week and led to the discovery of illegal weapons. Poaching is one of the key threats to the animals in Virunga, a Unesco World Heritage Site in the war-torn eastern region of DR Congo. The park is also home to gorillas, chimpanzees, okapi, forest elephants and buffalo, among other wildlife. Some 300 rangers protect the park from poachers, rebel groups and illegal miners. 'Effective weapon' Park authorities now hope the bloodhound programme, which was implemented with help from a specialised Swiss centre and volunteers from the German police, will help to protect the vulnerable elephant population from ivory poachers. The dogs and their handlers got the chance to put their training into action on 1 March, when rangers spotted a dead elephant with its tusks cut off on the edge of Virunga.