Scientists are using these unlikely creatures to track endangered species: 'Save significant time'

Conservationists have enlisted surprising helpers to locate endangered species in the Northern and Yorke region of South Australia: sniffer dogs. These detection dogs have been using their heightened senses of smell to track pygmy bluetongue lizards as part of a two-year conservation project, per reports by Flinders University.

The two dogs — brother and sister spaniels — have been training to accurately detect the lizards. Using smell receptors, the dogs track lizards in grasslands, where they hide deep in trapdoor spider holes. Since the lizards burrow underground and live in holes where different species used to hide, training and tracking down the lizards is not easy.

Previously, determining the lizard's population numbers was incredibly challenging, as it was time-consuming and required specialized equipment. However, the detection dogs now offer a viable solution for accurately counting the number of lizards in the area.

The Northern and Yorke Landscape Board's Nick Modra told the university that the hope is that the dogs will save significant time previously spent monitoring.

As a result, with the help of dogs, conservationists can improve the process of tracking down and monitoring the remaining populations of this species. The eventual goal is to safely move these lizards to ensure their long-term survival.

Flinders University professor of biodiversity and ecology Mike Gardner said in a press release, "The pygmy bluetongue lizard's survival is threatened, not only by habitat fragmentation but also climate change – so we need to know how to move lizards southward in order for them to survive."

Protecting the pygmy bluetongue lizards also helps preserve local grasslands by maintaining the structure of the natural landscape. They also help control insect populations.

Over the next two years, the team of conservationists will not only help protect the lizard population but will also help restore the health of the grasslands, a vital ecosystem. The conservation project aims to fund fencing and water points to limit grazing on the lizard's habitat and provide up to 200 iron grass seedlings.

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