Abstract
Detection dogs have been assigned with various tasks such as finding
drugs, explosives and human corpses. However, these dogs can also be
trained to search for certain species of conservation interest. Common
examples are dogs looking for scat of specific mammals, quarantine
species at import localities or carcasses of bats under windmills. This
technique is very helpful for species that are otherwise hard to find. The
highest success is achieved if the dog can search for a non-mobile component:
plant, scat, nest or carcasses. In two bachelor dissertations, we
tested the success rate of training a detection dog for the larvae of Stag
Beetle Lucanus cervus and the scat of Otter Lutra lutra. In both cases
the dogs were succesfull in detecting the species. Two dogs trained
for Otter scat succeeded in 80 and 100% of the cases. One dog trained
for Stag Beetles performed good in 81% of the cases. We conclude that
detection dogs could be an interesting technique to monitor or study
species for nature conservation, if appropriate species are selected, training
is carried out professionally and the dog can be used regularly on
the field.
Original language | Dutch |
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Journal | Natuur.Focus |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 4 |
Pages (from-to) | 166-170 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Thematic list
- Fauna
- Species protection plan
EWI Biomedical sciences
- B320-zoogeography
Taxonomic list
- carnivores (Carnivora)
- stag beetles (Lucanidae)
Policy
- species directed nature management