F9: Woody, The Puffin-Saving Dog
It’s easy to get the sense that our environment is changing, the species we rely on are disappearing, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. Well, this story is a reminder that with some research and understanding, there are simple things we can do to counteract what’s happening. Meet the seabirds of Rathlin Island, a small island off Northern Ireland, a key sanctuary to their survival. The decline of once ever-present puffins and razorbills has been rapid, and now researchers have found out why: ferrets and rats that hitched a ride by boat. How they solved the problem epitomizes the hope we should have for our planet. And, for dog lovers, this story will give you one more reason to believe that dogs are the greatest animals on earth.
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F9: WOODY, THE PUFFIN-SAVING DOG
HAPPY FRIDAY….ONE OF THE MOST INHERENT HUMAN TRAITS IS OUR ABILITY TO ADAPT TO OUR ENVIRONMENT. WE’RE WIRED TO ASSESS OBSTACLES AND COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS THAT BENEFIT US. IT’S NOT JUST A LEARNED SKILL…THIS IS A FUNDAMENTAL ASPECT OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR THAT DROVE OUR EVOLUTION FROM PRIMATES. SO, AS OUR WORLD CHANGES, WE ADAPT, AND WE DO SO VERY NATURALLY.
THE CHALLENGE IS, OUR ENVIRONMENT IS CHANGING QUICKLY, AND WHILE WE ARE GOOD AT PROTECTING OURSELVES, WE ARE STILL LEARNING TO PROTECT THE THINGS WE RELY ON.
THIS IS A STORY ABOUT HOW A COMMUNITY IS SOLVING A PROBLEM FOR A SPECIES UNDER SERIOUS THREAT, AND FOR DOG LOVERS, IT WILL GIVE YOU ONE MORE REASON TO BELIEVE THEY’RE THE GREATEST ANIMALS ON EARTH.
EPISODE
THERE’S NO DEBATE THAT THERE ARE MAJOR CHANGES HAPPENING ON OUR PLANET, AND MOST WOULD AGREE THEY’RE A DIRECT RESULT OF WHAT HUMANS ARE DOING. ONE OF THE CHANGES DOESN’T GET TALKED ABOUT MUCH: IT’S THE CASCADING DECLINES IN SEABIRD POPULATIONS.
SEABIRDS ARE NEAR THE TOP OF THE FOODCHAIN, AND THEY’RE GOOD INDICATORS OF THE HEALTH OF MARINE ECOSYSTEMS, SO THEY PLAY A KEY ROLE IN OUR ECOLOGY. A RECENT STUDY FOUND THAT SEABIRDS HAVE SUFFERED A 70% LOSS SINCE THE 1950S – A DECLINE THAT IS VERY TROUBLING FOR SCIENTISTS.
THEY’VE POINTED TO A FEW FACTORS. ONE, IS THE CHANGE IN TEMPERATURE OF OUR OCEANS MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO FIND SAFE PLACES TO NEST. A SECOND IS OVERFISHING, WHICH MAKES IT TOUGHER FOR SEABIRDS TO FIND PREY. ANOTHER REASON IS MARINE DEBRIS CAUSING SEABIRDS TO GET WRAPPED IN NETS AND INGEST PLASTICS.
BUT THERE’S ONE REASON, ONE THAT WAS DISCOVERED RECENTLY, THAT HAS CAUSED A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM THAN ORGINALLY THOUGHT. THE PROBLEM IF INVASIVE SPECIES.
FOR CENTURIES, SEABIRDS HAVE RELIED ON NESTING GROUNDS IN COLD-WEATHER AREAS TO FIND MATES AND PROCREATE BETWEEN APRIL AND JULY. AND THESE NESTING GROUNDS, OFTEN HIGH UP ON CLIFFS AWAY FROM PREDATORS, WERE PERFECT PLACES FOR YOUNG SEABIRDS TO GAIN THEIR STRENGTH.
BUT, AS TOURISTS BEGAN ARRIVING AT THESE NESTING GROUNDS, OFTEN BY SHIPS, OTHER ANIMALS, LIKE RATS AND FERRETS, HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY FROM THE SHIPS ONTO THE ISLANDS. THESE INVASIVE SPECIES WREAK HAVOC ON THE POPULATIONS OF SEABIRDS, BY FEASTING ON EGGS AND YOUNG BIRDS.
THE ISSUE WAS IDENTIFIED ON RATHLIN ISLAND. WITH ONLY 150 RESIDENTS, JUST OFF THE COAST OF NORTHERN IRELAND, IT’S ONE OF THE PREMIER NESTING PLACES IN ALL OF EUROPE FOR PUFFINS, RAZORBILLS, AND OTHER SEABIRDS. THE ISLAND IS PROTECTED BY 300-FOOT CLIFFS AND TOPPED WITH A 3,400 ACRE GRASSY APRON, SO IT’S THE IDEAL SPOT FOR THESE BIRDS TO MIGRATE.
HOWEVER, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT ONLY ONE-THIRD OF THE SEABIRD POPULATION WAS SURVIVING THEIR NESTING TIME THERE, MOSTLY DUE TO THE INFESTATION OF MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND RATS AND FERRETS. WITH JUST ONE FERRET BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF HUNDREDS OF SEABIRDS, THE PROBLEM WAS GROWING OUT OF CONTROL.
SO, THE EU AND NATIONAL LOTTERY HERITAGE PROJECT PARTNERED UP TO START AN EFFORT CALLED THE LIFE RAFT PROJECT TO ERRADICATE THE RATS AND FERRETS FROM THE ISLAND. ARMED WITH OVER SIX-THOUSAND TRAPS, A TEAM OF SCIENTISTS AND RESEARCHERS, AS WELL AS PROFESSIONAL CLIMBERS WITH ROPES TO NAVIGATE THE TERRAIN, COVERED THE ISLAND AND BEGAN THEIR WORK.
THE EFFORT WAS AN ENORMOUS SUCCESS, HAVING AN 88% SUCCESS RATE. HOWEVER, THEY STILL HAVEN’T ENTIRELY ERRADICATED THE INVASIVE SPECIES.
THAT’S WHERE WOODY COMES IN.
WOODY IS A 2-YEAR-OLD FOX RED LABRADOR RETREIVER WHO WAS BROUGHT IN TO IDENTIFY ANY REMAINING ANIMALS THAT WEREN’T TRAPPED BY THE PROJECT. WEARING SKI GOGGLES TO PROTECT HIS EYES FROM THORNS AND BRAMBLES, WOODY IS TRAINED TO DETECT THE DROPPINGS OF BOTH RATS AND FERRETS. HE ROUTINELY SURVEYS THE TERRAIN AND FINDS POCKETS OF THE ANIMALS THAT STILL NEED TO BE REMOVED. AND…HE’S INCREDIBLY GOOD AT WHAT HE DOES.
IN ADDITION TO WOODY, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE ISLAND STAYS FREE OF INVASIVE ANIMALS, THERE ARE NEW PROCEDURES IN PLACE TO ENSURE NO MORE RATS OR FERRETS ARE INTRODUCED TO THE ISLAND FROM SHIPS.
IT'S ESTIMATED THAT BY 2026, THEIR WORK WILL BE COMPLETE, AND THE ISLAND WILL BE ENTIRELY FREE FROM THE INVASIVES SPECIES, ALLOWING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PUFFINS AND OTHER SEABIRDS EACH YEAR TO INCREASE THEIR POPULATIONS IN THE AREA.
WHILE THERE IS STILL MUCH WORK TO BE DONE TO REMOVE INVASIVE SPECIES FROM OTHER NESTING PLACES WHERE SEABIRD POPULATIONS ARE DECLINING, AND THE WARMING PLANET ISN’T GOING TO CHANGE ANYTIME SOON, IT’S ENCOURAGING TO SEE THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED MAJOR CAUSES AND COME UP WITH CREATIVE SOLUTIONS, LIKE OUR FRIEND WOODY, TO HELP AN ENDANGERED SPECIES FIGHT BACK.
https://rathlin360.com/life-raft/life-raft-objectives/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g019y97ygo