SAN ANTONIO – A new method is being developed to track horned lizards, the Texas reptile that’s population been in decline.

The San Antonio Zoo wants to jumpstart the horned lizard population.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS spoke to the manager of the Center for Conservation and Research, Bekky Muscher-Hodges.

“They’re just an awesome South Texas icon or Texas icon in general. They are the Texas state reptile and people miss them,” says Muscher-Hodges.

She says the horny toad’s decline has a lot to do with how much habitat they’re losing.

Now, a new method called positive reinforcement is helping dogs train to search for the horned lizard by their scent.

Paul Bunker has trained dogs for decades; now he’s working with the zoo to train them to identify where the horned lizard will be reintroduced.

The zoo plans to release them in South Texas in the hopes that they’ll merge with existing populations.

For more information watch the video above.