Conservation Canines: How Dogs Work for the Environment
Australian cattle dog Alli is looking for the elusive Oregon spotted frog in a wetland of British Columbia working alongside her human partner Heath Smith Alli used to be a drug-detection dog before taking on her job in conservation It was love at first sight Smith says of his first meeting with her
INTRODUCTION Alli moved swiftly over the spongy earth cutting a sharp path through the knee high grass of a wetland in the Fraser Valley a couple of hours drive from Vancouver British Columbia Behind her Monica Pearson a conservation biologist and Heath Smith Alli’s trainer followed in hot pursuit But Alli paid them no mind Ears pricked and nose to the ground the energetic Australian cattle dog was on a mission Just as she approached the edge of a nearby pond Alli stopped suddenly and lay down She looked over at Smith fixing him with a gaze that radiated both intensity and expectation Smith and Pearson approached the dog and Smith knelt down and started digging through the grass Within a few seconds he uncovered what had made Alli stop a small frog with golden eyes Yeah Pearson exclaimed turning to Alli Good girl Mission accomplished Smith reached into his pocket pulled out a ball and rewarded Alli with a spirited game of fetch Pearson meanwhile focused on the frog measuring its body length checking its weight and attaching a small transmitter transmitter belt This was no ordinary frog It was an Oregon spotted frog Rana pretiosa or precious frog one of Canada’s most endangered amphibians and one of the most difficult to find In Canada the Oregon spotted frog is found only in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley Just 400 to 700 frogs are left distributed in six isolated populations Their numbers have declined by as much as 90 percent mostly because of the loss of their wetland habitat to agriculture and urban development Understanding where the frogs live is critical to their long-term survival When new populations are discovered wildlife managers can take steps to protect the habitat and reduce threats 11
But finding new populations of Oregon spotted frogs in wetlands is a time consuming and unreliable process mainly because it is difficult for people to move through these environments Surveyors walk slowly in knee deep mud during the short frog breeding season and can easily miss seeing the frogs With skin ranging from olive green to dark or reddish brown the Oregon spotted frog is well camouflaged It spends most of its time underwater and is expert at hiding under vegetation and in tunnels Pearson has spent years studying the frogs but when she looks for them in their unstable spongy muddy habitat it can take her hours to find one This changed when Alli came along in March 2012 to help find the shy frogs When I met Alli for the first time she was a veteran member of the Conservation Canines program at the University of Washington in Seattle which trains dogs to use their keen sense of smell to help find threatened and endangered species Alli is nimble and fast able to cover large areas in a short period of time and her acute sense of smell allows her to catch the scent of a species quickly Around the world many more dogs like Alli are taking on conservation jobs With their precise sense of smell hard working temperament and ability to bond with humans dogs have long been valued for helping with difficult difficult tasks such as searching for drugs and explosives or locating missing persons Throughout history dogs have also been placed in working roles to interact with wildlife as hunting dogs or livestock guardian dogs But today canine skills are increasingly being put to work in a variety of wildlife conservation projects to help the world’s most vulnerable species With growing The endangered Oregon spotted frog survives in only a handful of wetlands in British Columbia 2
pressure on the environment and many species on the brink of extinction Alli and other dogs are taking on new roles at unprecedented levels helping wildlife one sniff and bark at a time As detection dogs they work in different types of environments environments from oceans to deserts jungles and forests to wetlands They find animal poop track down elusive species help enforce environmental protection laws detect illegally obtained wildlife products such as rhino horns shark fins and elephant ivory and even catch people who are poaching They assist in controlling invasive species that harm native environments and species With the return of predators such as wolves and bears in different parts of the world livestock guardian dogs are once again working alongside humans They keep wolves bears and cheetahs away from goats sheep and cattle which means people and predators have a better chance of living together peacefully on the same land In this book you will get to know some of the four legged conservation heroes who tirelessly work to help wildlife around the world You’ll also meet the people teaming up with them to make a difference You will learn what kind of training dogs need to work in wildlife conservation conservation and you will follow them in the field and discover how their noses help scientists conservationists ranchers and farmers solve some of our most urgent environmental problems Humans and dogs have had a special relationship for thousands of years Today this unique bond between people and canines helps us better understand and protect endangered wildlife species on the planet we all share Conservation dog Alli had never smelled a frog before Yet she successfully detected one underwater in no time She is a quick learner handler Heath Smith says 3
