Dog’s nose knows turtles - A Corvallis man uses sheepdog to locate nests of rare

GAZETTE-TIMES (Corvallis, Oregon) 23 July 06 Dog’s nose knows turtles - A Corvallis man uses sheepdog to locate nests of rare species (Kyle Odegard)
The nests of rare Western pond turtles are hard for people to spot, but hungry critters such as foxes and skunks can sniff them out with little problem. And that gave local wildlife biologist Dave Vesely a big idea.
“It occurred to me that if predators could sniff these nests out, surely I could teach my dog to do it,” Vesely said.
Earlier this summer, his Belgian sheepdog, Chilko, helped the Marys River Watershed Council with a turtle conservation project in the Cardwell Hills area near Wren.
Though the 5-year-old canine didn’t find any nests — Vesely said there’s a large area to search, and they weren’t in the right spot — the prospect of tracking turtles has the watershed council excited.
If turtle nests are pinpointed, then the environmental group will know where to focus improvements so they’ll be most beneficial, said outreach coordinator Karen Fleck Harding.
One way to safeguard the turtles is to protect their nests with mesh screens, so coyotes and other animals can’t eat the eggs or young turtles.
And finding nests once could provide a long-term benefit.
“Turtles tend to be habitual. When they decide on a place that they want to nest, they go back to that place repeatedly,” Fleck Harding said.
Chilko has been successful in locating turtle nests in searches north of Albany and in the Eugene area, and she also has helped search for nests at the Philomath Scout Lodge property.
Vesely also is trying to help find turtles by applying for an Oregon Zoo grant to put transmitters on female turtles and follow their movements. Then Chilko could search a very specific area. “There’s just too much habitat out at the Scout pond and Cardwell Hills,” Vesely said.
He hopes to get Philomath High School students involved with tracking the turtles through those transmitters.
Philomath teens have studied Western pond turtles at the Scout lodge property for about 10 years.
“We’re really interested in finding out more about them,” said science teacher Jeff Mitchell.
“Anytime you can get your students working with a professional like that, it’s really helpful. It should be a good program,” he added.
Vesely adapted training methods for his dogs that mimic how police train canines to sniff for drugs.
“It really gets down to making the whole task a game to motivate the dogs,” Vesely said.
Vesely uses a more common red-eared slider turtle, or the scent of that turtle, for Chilko to practice with.
Chilko might soon have a partner in tracking turtle nests. One of Vesely’s other Belgian sheepdogs, Rogue, also is learning to sniff out turtles.
Next year, Vesely hopes to train his canines to spot rare prairie plants.
Vesely owns his own environmental consulting business, Pacific Wildlife Research, but he discounts his rates or does pro bono work in searching out turtles with Chilko, he said.
“I just think it’s important for me to help out these non-profit agencies,” Vesely added. Besides, field work gets him out of the office, and that’s what he really enjoys.

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