HomeScienceHow the massive dogs bred to protect livestock could save

How the massive dogs bred to protect livestock could save


master mentalism tricks

Livestock guardian dogs traditionally used to protect herd animals from predators are now also being hailed as a way to conserve the animals they are trained to scare off

Life 18 May 2022

By Isabelle Groc

Livestock guardian dogs in Portugal tending their flock

Isabelle Groc

WOLVES were once common in Portugal. As in other parts of Europe, they have been persecuted almost out of existence, with their range reduced by 80 per cent and numbers down to just 300 or so. Even now, when it is illegal to kill wolves, farmers still poison or shoot them to protect livestock.

Biologist Silvia Ribeiro is on a mission to change that. To help farmers coexist peacefully with wolves, she uses an ally from the past: livestock guardian dogs. For millennia, these dogs worked alongside shepherds to protect herds against wolves and bears that roamed in many regions of Europe and Asia. But in the 19th and 20th centuries, when such predators were largely exterminated, most guardian dogs lost their jobs and the breeds nearly went extinct. In the past 25 years, Ribeiro brought back four of them, placing 675 pups with herds of goats, sheep and cattle. The aim isn’t simply to protect livestock, but to conserve wolves too.

Ribeiro’s work is part of a much bigger trend. Around the world, as the rewilding movement grows and predators return to or expand their ranges, guardian dogs are enjoying an unexpected revival. They are even being put to new uses, such as guarding penguins and marsupials in Australia. To increase the success of this venture, Ribeiro and other scientists are rediscovering what it takes to make a good guardian dog. But they also want to know whether they really can change how farmers perceive predators, reducing livestock deaths and averting revenge killings – and whether using them …

Read The Full Article Here


trick photography
Advertisingfutmillion

Popular posts

Hollywood Spotlight: Director Jon Frenkel Garcia
The Dutchman Cast: André Holland, Zazie Beetz & More Join
The Creator Reactions: Gareth Edwards’ Latest Is One of 2023’s
Company Paid Critics For Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
Gilles Marini on Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch and the
Fire Country Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Too Many Unknowns
‘Beef’: Everything We Know About Season 2
Blue Bloods Season 14 Episode 4 Review: Past is Present
Bill McBirnie’s Reflections (For Paul Horn) 
“Be Big” by Stephanie Bettman
“Ride On” by Roots Asylum
Touch the Buffalo’s “Bodhicitta”
9 Boob Tapes That Work For All Busts, Shapes, and
Here’s Why Apple Cider Vinegar Is the Ingredient Your Hair
I Travel a Lot for Work—These Are the Useful Items
The Best Street Style Looks From the Fall 2023 Couture
Every Door Opens to Adventure in This Spellbinding Debut
Summary and Review: One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
No Preview
One Perfect Couple: Ending & Explanations
Author Aimie K. Runyan Shares The Joy of Writing Foodie
New AI tool discovers realistic ‘metamaterials’ with unusual properties
Starship launch 3: What time is the SpaceX flight today?
Europa’s seafloor may be impenetrable and inhospitable to life
Research reveals the key to an irresistible online dating profile
Killing TikTok
Comedy or Tragedy?
BYD Atto 3 Electric SUV With Blade Battery Technology Launched
Bitcoin Falls to $19,000 in Anticipation of Tighter Fed Policy