INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Four K-9 teams graduated Thursday from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources nine-week K-9 Resource Protection program.

The K-9’s came from Indiana and Arkansas. The program began in 1997 with two K-9’s and has grown to 13 different units across Indiana.

In a press release, a DNR spokesman said that the K-9 teams are used to stop poaching, find lost hunters, and can track several different species including white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and waterfowl.

According to the DNR, the K-9 Resource Protection program has also helped other state natural resource agencies launch and train dogs for their own K-9 programs.