{
  "id": 14321225,
  "title": "Our detection dogs are helping protect one of Australia’s most imperiled lizards",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/our-detection-dogs-are-helping-protect-one-of-australias-most",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-13T23:30:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation AU",
    "slug": "the-conversation-au",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/our-detection-dogs-are-helping-protect-one-of-australias-most-imperiled-lizards-293701"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Victorian grassland earless dragon, one of Australia's most endangered lizards, is a challenging creature to detect due to its small size and elusive nature. Found only in a single population in a west Victorian sheep paddock since 2023, this dragon is threatened by the loss of its grassland habitat. In an effort to protect this rare species, Zoos Victoria has enlisted the help of detection dogs to locate the animals through their feces, or scat. The unique scent of the Victorian grassland earless dragon's scat allows these specially trained dogs, known as \"dragon dogs\", to find and confirm the presence of the species in a given area.",
  "summary": "Highly trained canines, Sugar and Moss, are helping protect the critically endangered Victorian grassland earless dragon.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}