Moja and Molly aren’t ordinary Labrador retrievers –
they earn their keep by locating animal scat for senior scientist
Sam Wasser of the Center for Wildlife Conservation in Seattle,
Wash.
“This is going to completely revolutionize
the science of animal monitoring,” Wasser said. Wasser has trained
the dogs to sniff out bear and wolf droppings in the wild. He then
analyzes the DNA from the scat to determine how many animals live
in an area and where their prime habitat is located. By examining
scat, Wasser can even identify the parents of a newborn cub.
“We can use the DNA in the scat to tell
individuals apart,” he said. “We can get the same amount of
information as from radio-collaring but at one-fifth the price.”
Wasser rewards the animals by playing fetch with
them. He chose Moja, Swahili for “first,” and Molly for their love
of the game. “You look for a dog that has tremendous ball drive,”
he said, rather than picking a certain breed.
Initially, the dogs were trained by the
Washington State Department of Corrections to detect the odor of
marijuana. But after the first week with corrections officers,
Wasser said, “the other dogs went from marijuana to heroin, and we
went from marijuana to shit.” He said the dogs have caught on
quickly, especially once they were taken outside to roam forests
and fields looking for poop. Now, Moja and Molly may be going to
Tanzania, Africa, to track rhinos. But “funding is always a
struggle,” Wasser said, “especially since this is a new
technology.” Wasser said he and a colleague are writing a grant and
trying to publish articles to increase awareness of their work.
For more information, write the Center for
Wildlife Conservation, 5500 Phinney Ave. North, Seattle, WA
98103-5897.
* Jason Lenderman
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Scat dogs earn their keep.
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