By Roxanne Reid
Two-year-old Brin has recently joined the CapeNature team. Her job is to help conserve the critically endangered geometric tortoise. She’s the first conservation dog to do this work in South Africa.
Two-year-old Brin has recently joined the CapeNature team. Her job is to help conserve the critically endangered geometric tortoise. She’s the first conservation dog to do this work in South Africa.
Conservation dog detection is very new in South Africa and needs special skills. Brin was trained for tortoise detection over six months by CapeNature ecological co-ordinator Vicki Hudson.
‘The Malinois is a working breed which is part of one of the four varieties of Belgian shepherds,’ says Vicki. ‘They’re recognised internationally as excellent working dogs and their short brown coat is very suitable to working in shrubby, thorny veld.’
‘The Malinois is a working breed which is part of one of the four varieties of Belgian shepherds,’ says Vicki. ‘They’re recognised internationally as excellent working dogs and their short brown coat is very suitable to working in shrubby, thorny veld.’
Brin the tortoise detection dog with one of the tiny creatures she sniffed out in the name of conservation (This photo and the one above of Brin: CapeNature)
According to Vicki, a conservation detection dog isn’t breed specific, but needs high play and hunt drives, and must be physically suitable for working in the South African veld.
Vicki says that Brin loves her ball more than anything else in the world, even food. So it’s the ball that is her reward for sniffing out tortoises.
Geometric tortoise under threat
The geometric tortoise has been listed by the IUCN as one of the Top 100 most threatened species on Earth. It was recently upgraded to ‘critically endangered’ status and is the most endangered land tortoise in South Africa and the third most endangered in the world.
Vicki says that Brin loves her ball more than anything else in the world, even food. So it’s the ball that is her reward for sniffing out tortoises.
Geometric tortoise under threat
The geometric tortoise has been listed by the IUCN as one of the Top 100 most threatened species on Earth. It was recently upgraded to ‘critically endangered’ status and is the most endangered land tortoise in South Africa and the third most endangered in the world.
The critically endangered geometric tortoise (Photo: CapeNature)
It occurs only the low lying renosterveld habitat of the Cape lowlands. According to CapeNature, the main threats to its survival are habitat destruction and fragmentation, too-frequent fires, alien vegetation encroachment and a probable increase in predation pressure.
To monitor and conserve this little creature, conservationists need information gathered from the field. That’s why Vicki and Brin have been working across the Western Cape on presence/absence surveys, species diversity surveys, total population estimates, even search and rescue.
The cryptic colouration and sedentary behaviour of the geometric tortoise makes it hard to spot when you’re limited to visual clues, as we humans are. And that’s where Brin’s sensitive nose and high energy are proving so useful. And she’s happy to keep going as long as you reward her with a little round ball.
Read about how Anatolian dogs are also helping to conserve wildlife
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za
To monitor and conserve this little creature, conservationists need information gathered from the field. That’s why Vicki and Brin have been working across the Western Cape on presence/absence surveys, species diversity surveys, total population estimates, even search and rescue.
The cryptic colouration and sedentary behaviour of the geometric tortoise makes it hard to spot when you’re limited to visual clues, as we humans are. And that’s where Brin’s sensitive nose and high energy are proving so useful. And she’s happy to keep going as long as you reward her with a little round ball.
Read about how Anatolian dogs are also helping to conserve wildlife
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za
