Green Blog: Canine Conservationists on the Move

The high energy levels of many dogs in animal shelters can be off-putting to some people seeking to adopt one as a family pet. When that happens, the dogs can end up as candidates for euthanasia. But wildlife conservationists have found a way to capitalize on that intensity, enlisting canines to track threatened species and thereby help protect ecosystems.

Since mid-August, Frehley, an 8-year-old Border collie, and Sampson, a 7-year-old Labrador, have been combing the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico, sniffing for the scent of an endangered salamander. Scoping out fallen trees and the forest floor, the dogs are learning to identify the Jemez Mountains salamander by odor to help scientists estimate how many have survived stresses from a regional drought.

Frehley and Sampson are members of the Conservation Canines Program at the University of Washington?s Center for Conservation Biology. Since the program was founded in 1997, handlers have trained dogs to track scat scent to provide information on threatened and endangered species around the globe. In new pilot programs, the dogs are now also being trained to spot and identify the animals on their own. According to Heath Smith, the program?s manager, one of the program?s 15 dogs has been trained to find the Oregon spotted frog in British Columbia.

Frehley and Sampson were deployed to the Jemez Mountains during the wet monsoon season, when it is easier to find the moisture-seeking salamanders.

Last year the Nature Conservancy provided the Center for Conservation Biology with salamander scat and a piece of broken-off salamander tail to help prepare Frehley and Sampson. The dogs are being trained to generalize the scent of both sexes of the amphibian. ?Anything that has an odor you can train a dog to find,? Mr. Smith said.

Anne Bradley, the forest conservation project manager of the New Mexico chapter of the Nature Conservancy, said the state has placed the Jemez salamander on its endangered species list and that it is a candidate for a federal endangered listing. The species is believed to have dwelled in the Jemez Mountains for thousands of years, but chronic drought conditions have taken a toll on its habitat.

The salamanders are highly sensitive to changes in temperature and moisture, and researchers hope eventually to create a management plan to help them thrive.

The program gave both dogs a new lease on life. Frehley was adopted from the Seattle Animal Shelter in 2005, and Sampson was rescued from the Seattle Humane Society in 2008.

?It?s fun to be out here with Frehley and Sampson hiking around,? says Bud Marks, a dog trainer for the Conservation Canines Program. ?It?s wonderful to be able to save them and give them a job to do.?

Navigating rough terrain, Mr. Marks and locals from the Jemez Pueblo, a federally recognized tribe, help Frehley and Sampson find the salamanders in the wild. When one is located, Mr. Marks rewards the dogs with affection and a game of fetch with their favorite ball.

With more experience, Frehley and Sampson will eventually be able to search for salamanders over larger tracts of wilderness. ?It?s a happy, positive training session for the dogs,? Mr. Smith said.

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/canine-conservationists-on-the-move/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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