WYOMING – A couple of wildlife detection dogs from a Montana-based nonprofit group received special training to help locate endangered black-footed ferrets in Wyoming.
The dogs are from Working Dogs for Conservation. The training helped them determine the scent of black-footed ferrets from prairie dogs and other species. The dogs are currently being used to help locate black-footed ferrets near Meeteetse. The population is on the comeback from near extinction.
The kennel at Working Dogs for Conservation provides numerous services across five continents including ecological monitoring and mapping, poaching and trafficking prevention, disease detection, and more.
A dog’s sense of smell is especially useful in aiding field researchers. They can find stuff humans cannot.
Conservation detection dogs can be up to 40 times more efficient than human searchers at developing population and habitat data. They can cover large areas and rough terrain, detect cryptic species and scents hidden in deep vegetation, and do it with virtually limitless eagerness and energy, according to the Working Dogs website. Human searches are often biased toward adult and territorial animals, but dogs find scats from all individuals, including juveniles and subordinates, giving better data and more accurate population and distribution estimates.
