Dogs With Jobs: Hero Dog Saves Baby Turtles!
These baby sea turtles are in trouble! Who will help them?
The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is the least populous of all of the seven sea turtle species, and they are in serious danger. Considered “genetically extinct” by many scientists, estimates put world populations of this adorable turtle at less than 1000. How can this vunerable species be saved? Well that’s exactly what Donna Shaver, PhD has been working to do. Though Doctor Shaver has done tireless research to establish new breeding grounds for these scarce turtles, she’s needed a lot of help, and it’s come in the form of her trusty Cairn Terrier, Ridley! Cairn Terriers were originally bred in Scotland for sniffing out burial grounds and property boundaries. Today, this dog has a slightly different task, but one that is very helpful – Ridley sniffs out kemp’s ridley turtle nests so that her handler and a team of scientists can study and ensure the survival of these extremely rare turtle eggs. Of all of the dog jobs we’ve covered so far, this might be the most important – from a conservationist perspective at least. So a round of applause for Ridley! Not to mention it is a beach job, who wouldn’t love a job on the beach?
