Dogs Help Bee Conservation Efforts
The Scotsman reports that one dog will take on the daunting task of sniffing for bees.
A sniffer dog has been hired in a bid to save Britain’s most endangered bumblebees from extinction, it emerged today.
For the next five weeks, Quinn, a specially trained Springer Spaniel, will roam the remote terrain of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, tracking down colonies of the furry insects.
The unusual project, thought to be the first of its kind in the world, has been launched by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
The group wants to find out how many rare bumblebees are left in the UK and what can be done to protect them.
Quinn, a former stray, was taken from a rescue centre and trained at the Defence Animal Centre in Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. But while most of his canine colleagues have been taught to hunt for drugs and explosives, Quinn has been taught to nose out bee nests.
He will be guided by his handler, Joe Waters, a PHD student at Southampton University who is investigating the ecology of bumblebees and is helping the trust with its project.
