Until now, dogs have been used to catch criminals, detect drugs and explosives, and identify many deadly diseases. Now, snakes and lizards have also come within their scope.
In our country, whenever a snake appears, a snake charmer is called. He sits down, starts playing his flute from a bag, and soon a snake emerges from somewhere and begins to sway. The charmer then catches it and places it in his basket.
Snakes don’t have ears, and it is said that they can sense sound through their entire body. Scientists explain that snakes do not sway to the sound of the flute itself; rather, as the charmer moves the flute, the snake follows its motion, keeping an eye on it to defend itself or strike.
Snake venom is used in many medicines, particularly in making antivenom. In developed countries, snake-catching experts use a specially designed stick instead of a flute to safely catch snakes. But now, in the U.S. state of Florida, dogs are being trained to catch snakes, and a successful experiment has recently been conducted.
Florida’s vast natural parks and hunting grounds have seen an increase in lizards. Conservative estimates put their numbers between 100,000 and 300,000. Some experts suggest that, due to the rapid disruption of wildlife systems in these parks, the actual number could be even higher.
Small animals and birds are the preferred prey of these lizards. They ambush and swallow them whole. Because of the large lizard population, the natural balance of wildlife is being disrupted, making it necessary to catch lizards and reduce their numbers.
The difficulty is that lizards hide so well in wild grass and ditches that locating them is not easy.
Wildlife experts realized that if trained dogs can detect drugs, explosives, and even illnesses like COVID-19 just by scent, then they could also help catch lizards. Typically, every living creature emits a unique scent. Since dogs have an extremely keen sense of smell, they can detect and identify many odors that humans cannot perceive.
Experts working in wildlife conservation recently trained two dogs to track lizards by scent. One dog is named Truman, and the other is Eleanor. Recently, near a small public hunting ground close to Miami, Truman helped locate and capture an 8-foot-long lizard. Experts say this first success opens a new path for wildlife conservation.
Eric Sutton, Executive Director of the Florida Commission on Wildlife Conservation, said they aim to make new discoveries in this area, and these dogs represent the first success.
He added that these dogs work with great dedication and sincerity, and they are a source of pride.
One reason for the unusually high lizard population in the area is that a female lizard can lay around 100 eggs. Although snakes may eat some of their young, many hatchlings survive by escaping, sometimes putting others’ lives at risk.