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Control and Containment Strategies on Guam: Canine Detection Teams
Canine Detection Teams |
Habitat Modification |
Physical Barriers |
Trapping |
Visual Searches |
Most people are familiar with trained dogs being used to sniff out drugs and other contraband as well as aiding police teams in their searches for missing persons or in catching the trail and sometimes tail end of a fleeing criminal, but most have probably not heard of the recent application of detector dog teams searching out unwelcome snakes! In fact, this idea has been employed since 1989 in Hawaii, a group of islands that harbor no native species of snakes. Beagles that were originally trained to detect plant products in passenger bags have been cross-trained to detect incoming snakes on Oahu.
Snake
detector dogs are also being used on Guam to search for snakes in outgoing
cargo and on Saipan to inspect incoming cargo moved by both air and surface
routes. Teams of dogs and handlers inspect a variety of materials,
including personal goods, containerized cargo, etc., and, when time permits,
the cargo holds and wheelwells of military and commercial aircraft.
The success rates of these dog teams may be questionable in some situations because of limits in accessibility, large volumes of cargo, and the potential for masked odors and other distractions. Frequently dogs are not permitted in aircraft fuselages due to safety concerns related to machinery operations in confined spaces and limited ground times. The ability of a dog to function in inspecting wheelwells due to problems of size, compounding odors, heat, and other disturbances is currently under investigation and is a notable consideration when dispersal events of the brown Treesnake are examined (dispersing snakes have been found after falling out of wheelwells on aircraft).
An example of the difficulty that can be encountered when searching for cryptic and secretive snakes even with the advantage of a keenly attuned nose occurred at Won Pat International Airport on Guam. On this occasion, what appeared to be a snake-free container repeatedly received positive responses from a detector dog. The container was unloaded and visually inspected numerous times before the snake was finally discovered lodged in the roll-up door of the container itself.
Canine detection poses possible difficulties because it requires extensive training and commitment of resources for handlers and dogs, and it is expensive. Yet this strategy, and the potential benefits as an initial line of defense against dispersing snakes, remains a promising piece of the control strategy puzzle.
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