Endangered killer whales rescued by dog's poop-sniffing skills

30 Oct 2020

Endangered killer whales rescued by dog’s poop-sniffing skills

Endangered killer whales rescued by dog’s poop-sniffing skillsResearchers have found a way to rescue endangered killer whales. Let's find out more.

The orca or killer whale is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. It is the largest member of the family. Today, orcas are endangered (less in number) due to pollution, loss of food sources, living areas, etc.

A rescue dog named Eba is helping scientists save these endangered killer whales. Eba can sniff and find endangered killer whales poop (or “skat”).

Whales' poop can give a lot of important information about them. It includes their health, stress level etc.

Eba's owner is Deborah Giles, a marine biologist, who studies killer whales. Eba was abandoned as a puppy. She was adopted by Giles. Soon, Giles realised that Eba has great smelling skills. So, Eba was put into a programme that trains dogs to hunt for marine wildlife droppings (poop).

Eba works with Giles near a pod (group) of orcas living off the Canadian Gulf Islands and the US San Juan Islands.

Eba is great for this work because she can sniff the poop from a long distance. On the other hand, scientists have to go near the whales to do such research, which can stress them out.

Here is a video of orcas and humpback whales:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEP0sMO-nUQ
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Researchers have found a way to rescue endangered killer whales. Let’s find out more. The orca or killer whale is a toothed whale belonging to […]

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