Moss, the Tassie Devil detection dog

Moss bounds happily through the bush showing the usual exuberance of a young labrador. Despite this looking like play, he is on a serious mission to help fight the extinction of some of our most critically endangered species. Moss is a detection dog in training. 15 ……, he’ll be finding some of Victoria’s smallest, best camouflaged and most elusive animals.

These dogs use their exceptional olfactory senses to locate everything from koalas high in the trees, desert tortoises burrowed deep under soil and even whales — often more effectively than any human team could aspire to. What makes Moss unique, is he’ll not only find endangered species in the wild, but will also be part of a larger team helping endangered species breed in captivity. These dogs will be the first in the world to do this, starting with a ground-breaking trial with Tasmanian devils.

Wildlife detection dogs are a very rare type of dog — they are highly motivated, engaged and energetic, 16 …… .

Moss was adopted at 14 months old, 17 …… . He is a hurricane of energy with an intelligent and playful mind. He’s thriving with a job to keep him occupied and new challenges for his busy brain. One sign he was perfect for this program was his indifference to the free-range chickens at his foster home. For obvious reasons, a dog who likes chasing chickens wouldn’t be a good candidate for protecting some of Australia’s rarest feathered treasures.

Currently Moss is learning crucial foundational skills, and getting plenty of exposure to different environments. Equally important, he is developing a deep bond and trust with his handlers. 18 …… , but also for working success and longevity.

Healesville Sanctuary breeds endangered Tasmanian Devils every year as part of an insurance program to support conservation and research. 19 …… due to a horrific transmissible cancer, Devil Facial Tumour Disease.

But managing a predator that’s shy, nocturnal and prefers to be left alone can be tricky. Wildlife, including Tasmanian devils, need a hands-off approach where possible, so they can maintain natural behaviours and thrive in their environment.

We aim to train dogs to detect an odour profile in the collected scat of female devils coming into their receptive (oestrus) periods, so we can introduce females and suitable males to breed at the optimal time. 20 …… .

Currently, the best way to determine if a female has young is to look in her pouch, but our preference is to remain at a distance during this important time while females settle into being new mums. If the dogs are able to smell a scat sample (while never coming into contact with the devil) and identify that a female is lactating with small joeys in her pouch, we can support her – for example, by increasing her food – while keeping a comfortable distance.