Posted on 07/22/2021 7:34:30 AM PDT by SJackson
Humans are terrible at finding bats and birds killed by wind turbines. Dogs are great at it.
Kayla Fratt began preparing for her summer job in March, when a package of frozen bat carcasses arrived for her in the mail. Well, actually, the bats were for her border collies, Barley and Niffler, and it is really their summer job too. They needed to learn the scent of a dead bat, because they would be spending three months on wind farms, looking for bats killed by spinning turbines.
To teach them, Fratt, who worked as a dog trainer before getting into the bat-detection business, began by hiding the carcasses around her living room (in Tupperware, lest their smell linger on the furniture). The dogs soon graduated to hunting for dead bats in the yard, then in parks. Fratt took to carrying bat carcasses around when she left the house with Barley or Niffler, just in case they found themselves with free time to practice in a new location. All three of them reported for duty at a midwestern wind farm earlier this month. When we spoke last week, Fratt told me their orientation was starting the next day. Then, she said, “we hit the ground running.”
Barley and Niffler are just two of the many conservation-detection dogs now employed by the growing wind industry. As turbines proliferate across the country, understanding their effect on wildlife is more important than ever. In the early days of turbines, scientists had focused on the danger they posed to eagles and other raptors—but it turns out those big bird carcasses were simply the easiest for humans to spot.
“Truth was, people are terrible at finding bats and small birds,” says K. Shawn Smallwood, a biologist who has worked wind farms in California.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Feral Cat manna from heaven.
I would not care if you dropped dead today or tomorrow. Not a big deal to me either.........
Why are you here?
“ Feral cat colonies under wind turbines are feasting, fat and multiplying. Food just falls from the sky.”
Cue PETA! Oh wait, bats are not cute enough to warrant PETA getting upset. But what about the poor cute little defenseless birds? Are they not cute enough for PETA to get naked and glue some bird feathers to their bodies and march down Broadway and Main Street USA protesting these mass murdering turbines? Only thing I can think of is that they have been paid off, had their lives threatened, or both. Of course the media will never look into it since they too have been paid off.
“ Sis raises Border Collies and thats not one, looks more like a G Shepard”
Your right, that must be a stock photo the reported just plugged in. I’m sure that if Sis raises Border Collies she know the difference between them and German Shepherds.
Bats are deadly so these turbines are saving us from future pandemics.
Can they train them to find Illegal Xiden Ballots?
Wish.com. It’s the Chinese version of Amazon.
They only sell Bats harvested in the Wuhan Province, 100% guaranteed.
Don’t forget the real Bird Killers, Feral Cats.
Organic....................
>>>Sis raises Border Collies and thats not one, looks more like a G Shepard<<<
It’s the Glasses the Dog is wearing. It makes it appear that the Dog is a mild mannered German Shepard.
It’s a Clark Kent thing. Take them off and it’s Superbordercollie.
Available at a Whole Foods near you.
It’s an Australian Cattledog.
Dr. Fauci surely can answer that question.
Question is about 20 years over due. People in California called the windmills condor cuisinarts a long time ago.
Good point but event seen Cat vs Tubine blade stats
Well, at least they’re being HONEST for a change and admitting that those things KILL a lot of wildlife.
I know they kill my spirit a little bit every time I see one. We have more going up in my county. Ugh!
Never saw a cattle dog mentioned in the piece so why post an incorrect photo ?
LOL! I bet he can!...................
LOL
Typical Atlantic fail
Not one dog/Border Collie that is named in the piece appears in any photo.
Also none of the photos are of a Border Collie.
Nice cut and past of different articles to make one.
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