Just finished my newest painting!!! It was quite a difficult one, too. As usual, I've named it something rather bland, "Sheepdog and Penguins", yet the work itself is based on an absolutely compelling story that I couldn't get out of my mind.
There are countless articles on this story by news outlets around the world from NPR to Australia's Herald Sun (they win the award for cutest cover story picture, look below…awwww!!!) .
O, Herald Sun, you know just how to tug on my heart strings…
Needless to say, this story made an impact for its' entertainment value, as well as it's value as BadAss Conservation News (I should trademark that).
So, here it is: The Little Blue Penguin, also called the Fairy Penguin, Little Penguin, and Blue Penguin, are a sort of, national symbol for the people of coastal Australia and New Zealand (those freakin' islanders and their interesting animals....so jealous).
Middle Island, off the coast of Australia, was home to a colony of Little Blue Penguins that seasonally rest on the islands' shores around mating time. But, in 2005 a few foxes found a land-bridge to the island at low tide and killed off the penguins to a mere 10. "Swampy", our wise, heroic, "chook" farmer in the story, describes the fox/penguin relationship as "it's like salt-and-vinegar chips to foxes, I reckon".
Snack food or not, "Swampy" decided to do something about the loss of a nationally popular shore bird. He took his sheepdog, "Oddball"--a white, fluffy, Marrema, who usually protects his chickens--to the island in hopes that he would protect the penguins. The first few tries backfired. "Oddball" got lonely, swam home, and didn't seem to pay any attention to the penguins.
So, here it is: The Little Blue Penguin, also called the Fairy Penguin, Little Penguin, and Blue Penguin, are a sort of, national symbol for the people of coastal Australia and New Zealand (those freakin' islanders and their interesting animals....so jealous).
Middle Island, off the coast of Australia, was home to a colony of Little Blue Penguins that seasonally rest on the islands' shores around mating time. But, in 2005 a few foxes found a land-bridge to the island at low tide and killed off the penguins to a mere 10. "Swampy", our wise, heroic, "chook" farmer in the story, describes the fox/penguin relationship as "it's like salt-and-vinegar chips to foxes, I reckon".
Snack food or not, "Swampy" decided to do something about the loss of a nationally popular shore bird. He took his sheepdog, "Oddball"--a white, fluffy, Marrema, who usually protects his chickens--to the island in hopes that he would protect the penguins. The first few tries backfired. "Oddball" got lonely, swam home, and didn't seem to pay any attention to the penguins.
Local conservationists predicted that the dog would need sufficient training to know to protect and not to eat the penguin population. But, after a few futile attempts, "Oddball" starting staying on the island, understanding his role as a protector.
He marked the area around the penguin colony and kept lookout for foxes, barking and chasing them away when he saw them. Within weeks, the colony started growing. Since 2005 the colony has bounced back, numbering in the hundreds.
Now, a few Marrema sheepdogs are on the island on rotating shifts so that they all have a break and don't get bored and swim home. Middle island has gotten a huge grant to continue and study the project and conservationists are looking at using sheepdogs to protect other vulnerable species.
He marked the area around the penguin colony and kept lookout for foxes, barking and chasing them away when he saw them. Within weeks, the colony started growing. Since 2005 the colony has bounced back, numbering in the hundreds.
Now, a few Marrema sheepdogs are on the island on rotating shifts so that they all have a break and don't get bored and swim home. Middle island has gotten a huge grant to continue and study the project and conservationists are looking at using sheepdogs to protect other vulnerable species.
On Middle Island with a Marrema
Animal senses have been utilized for our advantage for centuries…War Pigeons (Woohoo! Buy my painting!) for delivering messages, scent tracking dogs, rats for land-mines, I'm pretty sure dolphins have been used on many occasions….All sorts of jobs for animals with sharp senses and a brain for human interaction. My previous post was about a dog who finds whale scat in the ocean for scientists to test and depict food sources and stressors of whales off the coast of Oregon. Plus, check out www.workingdogsforconservation.org and you'll find a list of dogs trained to search for things like invasive snails in Hawaii, bear, wolverine, and lynx scat, identifying Giant Pandas in China, gorillas in the Congo, and rare plant species around the world. Pretty amazing stuff.
The story of "Oddball" and his penguins is obviously interesting, entertaining, and heart-warming. But, it fascinates me because it highlight an even more dramatic shift in conservation thinking. It shows the tilt toward setting up the parameters for biodiversity while not invading into it. Which, I think is a very healthy and creative path to take.
Gerald Durrell was a pioneer in conversation because instead of killing the animals to take them home for study, he captured them, re-wrote and elevated the rules for an acceptable zoo, and then brought them home for study alive, well, and on display for the public to educate themselves about animals from around the world. Now, that method seems archaic. Now, the impulse is towards being as un-invasive as possible, getting a much broader picture of a targeted population, and utilizing your resources to keep the price tag down.
This story does just that. A local dog, hardly any training or money necessary, and minimal human footprints. It's an entirely intuitive and accidental approach that worked seamlessly. "Swampy" is not a certified dog trainer, "Oddball" was not bred for penguin-watching or fox-scaring. It was purely the right job, for the right species, for a good cause. Plus, it caught the eye of the public which--in our world of low funding for science and high demand for the media spot-light--is a very, very good thing.
That massive grant was well deserved and hopefully will lead to more money for more projects with a focus on non-invasive conservation efforts in the future.
Hope you like the painting!
The story of "Oddball" and his penguins is obviously interesting, entertaining, and heart-warming. But, it fascinates me because it highlight an even more dramatic shift in conservation thinking. It shows the tilt toward setting up the parameters for biodiversity while not invading into it. Which, I think is a very healthy and creative path to take.
Gerald Durrell was a pioneer in conversation because instead of killing the animals to take them home for study, he captured them, re-wrote and elevated the rules for an acceptable zoo, and then brought them home for study alive, well, and on display for the public to educate themselves about animals from around the world. Now, that method seems archaic. Now, the impulse is towards being as un-invasive as possible, getting a much broader picture of a targeted population, and utilizing your resources to keep the price tag down.
This story does just that. A local dog, hardly any training or money necessary, and minimal human footprints. It's an entirely intuitive and accidental approach that worked seamlessly. "Swampy" is not a certified dog trainer, "Oddball" was not bred for penguin-watching or fox-scaring. It was purely the right job, for the right species, for a good cause. Plus, it caught the eye of the public which--in our world of low funding for science and high demand for the media spot-light--is a very, very good thing.
That massive grant was well deserved and hopefully will lead to more money for more projects with a focus on non-invasive conservation efforts in the future.
Hope you like the painting!
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