An ant finding dog!
Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2018 2:36 am
Random fact!
There is an ant finding dog! It is used for finding Argentine ants in New Zealand. Rhys Jones (the dog's name), is a 4-year-old Welsh springer spaniel, he has learnt to smell the ant's pheromones. At the moment, it is the only one in the world. His nose is sufficiently acute to ignore native ants and only smells the presence of the invader species. He mainly works on the islands near the Hauraki Gulf. He has also been trained to New Zealand's, Department of Conservation standards because he has to work on islands in the presence of endangered species, manly birds.
Where I am reading this from it is a bit old so this could be out of date.
Here are a few links if you like to read more:
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/dog-squad/episodes/s8-e7 5:56 - 7:23 and 13:24 - 15:30 (NZ TV show called Dog Squad had a small bit on it)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11522943 (News article)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/waiheke-marketplace/8048967/Spaniel-on-the-trail-of-invasive-ants (News article)
Hope one of you found that interesting.
Hugh
There is an ant finding dog! It is used for finding Argentine ants in New Zealand. Rhys Jones (the dog's name), is a 4-year-old Welsh springer spaniel, he has learnt to smell the ant's pheromones. At the moment, it is the only one in the world. His nose is sufficiently acute to ignore native ants and only smells the presence of the invader species. He mainly works on the islands near the Hauraki Gulf. He has also been trained to New Zealand's, Department of Conservation standards because he has to work on islands in the presence of endangered species, manly birds.
Where I am reading this from it is a bit old so this could be out of date.
Here are a few links if you like to read more:
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/dog-squad/episodes/s8-e7 5:56 - 7:23 and 13:24 - 15:30 (NZ TV show called Dog Squad had a small bit on it)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11522943 (News article)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/waiheke-marketplace/8048967/Spaniel-on-the-trail-of-invasive-ants (News article)
Hope one of you found that interesting.
Hugh