Sit. Stay. Save A Cheetah.
Wednesday December 7, 2016
|
Zookeeper's Scat Detection Dog Works to Save Cheetahs Assistant curator Chris Bartos’ rescued border collie, Finn, is the first ever scat detection dog at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia. Finn is trained to sniff out cheetah scat (poop) in order to track the cats’ movements. Data collected is ultimately used to inform cheetah conservation strategies. Several years ago, Bartos traveled with Finn to Africa, where she helped CCF staff learn how to work with the dog to search for and indicate scat. Thanks to funding from the Jonathan Gilmour Memorial Scholarship Fund, Bartos is now in Namibia to check in on Finn, work on training plans for CCF's new dogs, and work with staff. We’ve asked her to send along notes from the field as she works alongside these dogs in the fight to save the wild cheetah. Stay tuned for more!
|
|
December 13, 2016
Staying busy here at the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia. I have mainly been working with the dogs- both the scat dogs and the livestock guarding dogs like Firat here. I gave a presentation to the interns and staff on scat detection dogs and will be doing a training seminar tomorrow. I got to watch a couple of cheetah runs, help with daily feeding, go on game counts and night anti- poaching patrols. Saw some interesting species such as aardwolves, genets, gemsbok, red hartebeest, bat eared foxes and mongoose. Still lots more to see and do!! -Chris |
|
Bartos is also the Regional North American Studbook Keeper and SSP Coordinator for African crested porcupines.
Visit our Keeper's Corner to learn more about Bartos' original trip to Namibia with Finn.