From small cats to pangolins: Detection dogs help track elusive species

In South Africa's Karoo, conservation biologist Michelle Marie Schroeder is tracking elusive black-footed cats using unconventional means: detection dogs Lyka and Sebala. These German Shorthaired Pointers are trained to identify the cats' scat by scent, a difficult task as the nocturnal predators are hard to study. With the dogs, Schroeder discovered hundreds of samples in a few months, aiding non-invasive genetic monitoring of Felis nigripes.

Lyka's contributions were invaluable, with her finding far more scats than Schroeder alone could have. Hal Brindley, a researcher at the University of Cape Town, also relies on these dogs for studying the cryptic predator. He notes that traditional methods like camera traps and trapping are often ineffective or invasive. The dogs' ability to accurately detect the cats' scat has made non-invasive monitoring of the elusive species possible.