Nosy Dog Helps Save World’s Rarest Sea Turtle Species

Among Cairn terriers, the best-known celebrity is “Toto” from the Wizard of Oz. Now she might have some competition, as a Cairn terrier named Ridley is gaining fame for helping to save his namesake, the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.

Ridley helps find the nests of the sea turtles in Texas along Padre Island National Seashore– the longest barrier island in the world. It’s necessary to find the nests quickly so that they can be protected from coyotes or raccoons, or even the high tide. Sometimes human volunteers can’t find the nests after following turtle tracks, so it’s Ridley and his nose to the rescue!

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Ridley was trained by his owners to find turtle nests. One of his owners, Donna Shaver, happens to be the Director for the National Seashore’s Sea Turtle Science and Recovery Division and saw the value in having a more powerful nose than a human’s on windy days, when it is harder to find sea turtle nests. So she and her husband began training Ridley three years ago as a puppy to recognize the scent of sea turtles, their eggs, and nests.

Ridley’s biggest find to date was in 2007. Wind had blown away the tracks to a nest, and Ridley was called in for assistance. He found the nest within minutes and as a result 92 turtle hatchlings were saved. You can see photos of our heroic canine friend by clicking here and here.

Padre Island National Seashore has been the location of reintroduction efforts for the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle since 1978. In addition to being the smallest sea turtle species, the Kemp’s ridley is also considered the most rare. Its population was estimated to be around 1,000 in the 1980s. Hunting, pollution, habitat loss, and the nets of shrimp boats have all contributed to the turtle’s decline. Today, the population has grown, but still fewer than 5,000 nest each year. Most of them nest in Mexico, and a study showed that 60% of the nesting attempts in the U.S. occur along Padre Island’s shores.  Reintroduction efforts have been strong, and last year 10,594 hatchlings were released by wildlife officials along Texas’s coast.

Photo Credit: madame.furie on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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