Hunting dogs trained to save rare turtles
As turtles become more at risk due to changing environments, scientists have to find a way to protect them. Hunting dogs are the surprising friends in need.
Turtles are more at risk of extinction than ever. Between hunting, landscape and environment changes, and pollution, turtles are losing their habitats and freedom. That means scientists need to figure out a way to save them, and hunting dogs are becoming the surprising friends in need.
Yes, you read that correctly. Hunting dogs are becoming turtles’ saviors. And this isn’t an episode of PAW Patrol, which saw the pups team together to help baby turtles get across a busy road and into the ocean.
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A retired schoolteacher in Iowa, John Rucker, trained his hunting dogs to find the reptiles in the area. This helps scientists count the number of turtles there currently are so they know just how big the problem is getting. According to NPR, Rucker is the only person who has trained his hunting dogs to “find turtles” but that doesn’t mean he’ll be the last.
Technically, he’s not the only person with specially trained hunting dogs. There are many others doing similar work for other creatures, according to Working Dogs for Conservation. The dogs help to detect habitats to protect the wildlife of all kinds.
That’s not to take away from the special efforts Rucker is doing. He and his four “super dogs,” as he calls them, Rooster, Jenny Wren, Mink, and Jaybird, go through the underground and look under old logs and in brush piles. The dogs will gently pick up the turtles when they find them and take the creatures to Rucker.
It’s an important task. Someone has to help protect nature, as so many humans are unwittingly or uncaringly destroying the planet and habitats. Turtles are on the verge of extinction if something isn’t done to look out for them. Who would have thought hunting dogs would have been the saviors of turtles?
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What do you think of hunting dogs protecting the wildlife? Share your thoughts in the comments below.