Dogs trained to sniff out Australia's most endangered reptile
Seven dogs are trained to find the critically endangered Victorian grassland earless dragon. This is the world's only known population.
The Victorian grassland earless dragon disappeared for more than 50 years. The species was found again in a west Victorian sheep paddock in 2023.
Hand-sized with bodies about the length of a pinky finger, they are now Australia's most imperiled reptile. Zoos Victoria launched a study to train dogs to help protect them.
The team first looked for dragon droppings instead of living dragons. The droppings look like a brown, crumbly grain of rice.
Two dogs, Sugar and Moss, learned to tell dragon scat from other reptile waste with remarkable accuracy. But there was a problem.
Ant colonies were eating the droppings before the dogs could smell them. More than a third of samples vanished in just 24 hours.
So the trainers changed their method. Now they teach dogs to find dragons directly in hiding spots among spider burrows and grass tussocks.
- About the length of a pinky finger
- Body length
- Only one known population in the world
- Population count
- Sugar and Moss
- Dogs trained
- More than one third in 24 hours
- Scat loss rate
Why it mattersOnly one population of these dragons exists on Earth. Quick ways to find them are important for breeding programs and protection decisions.
AustraliaThis dragon exists nowhere else; detecting and monitoring it is solely Australia's responsibility for keeping the species alive.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
Open this story in InSnip →
