PASSION FOR FRESH IDEAS: "Q&A: MEET TIP THE DOG FROM THE MARQUESAS ISLAND OF UA HUKA"
Passion for fresh ideas published an article about Tip, the rat detecting dog
On April 7, 2023, Passion for fresh ideas published an article about Tip, a dog trained to find black rats on the remote island of Ua Huka in the Marquesas, home to two critically endangered birds. The Aranui 5 collaborates with the association training Tip to get the shipping of the cargo checked. Read the article of the journalist Chantal Cooke here.
Extract:
“Ua Huka is one of the last two islands in French Polynesia, that doesn’t have the black rat . The black rat is the main threat for the avian fauna and agriculture. Ua Huka is home to two endemic protected birds, the “Ultramarine lorikeet” and the “Iphis monarch”, both listed as “critically endangered” on the IUCN red list. This is mainly because both only live on Ua Huka and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
On cargo days Tip and Sabrina wait at the dock and Tip is ready to sniff out any black rats that may try to enter the island. This is Tip’s most important job – spotting and catching any black rats before they make it on to the island, where finding them would be much more difficult.”
