Sunday, November 29, 2009

Sniff, Ubu, Sniff! Good Dog!

Proof that dogs can do anything: Biosecurity officers in Australia have trained a labrador retriever to sniff out populations of the invasive South American electric ant (Wasmannia auropunctata). The article has a gallery of accompanying photos that claim to show "Ofira the electric ant dog" in action but are really just incredibly cute shots of the dog playing fetch (well, ok, there are a couple of shots of the ants too :-)).

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Bleached Pond

Wisconsin is preparing to bleach their Louisiana crayfish (crawfish? crawdads? :-)) out of existence. The invasive crustacean in question is the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), in case you're wondering.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Dog The Bounty Hunter

Aussie pup sniffs out, hunts down invasive red-eared slider turtles in Victoria. Good dog!

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Pay To Play Against The Rules

A man caught violating regulations that require boaters to allow their vehicles to be inspected by park staff was fined $2500 earlier this month. The rules are in place at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in order to prevent the introduction of zebra and quagga mussels into Lake Powell, a man-made reservoir located in between Utah and Arizona.