Sheepdogs Used to Guard Troubled Penguin Colony

[Are_grits_groceries]

Sheepdogs have helped to guard a colony of fairy penguins, and proven themselves to be very good at their job. So good, in fact, that conservationists are pondering what other threatened animals these K9s can protect.

A colony of fairy penguins on Warrnambool’s Middle Island off the south coast of Australia has dwindled dramatically due to attacks by foxes and wild dogs. However, their numbers are rising again thanks to their new bodyguards - two Maremmas, an Italian breed of sheepdog that bonds with the flock or herd of animals it is protecting.

'We're now starting to see some great results,' said Middle Island Maremma Project manager Ian Fitzgibbons. 'We've had our best penguin count since we began in 2006 with over 80 birds counted in one night and I think we have about 26 chicks on the island too.'

Using the dogs to protect this penguin colony was just an experiment, but it's proven to be a successful one. Now, researchers of various other threatened animals can scratch their heads and ponder if a couple of Maremmas might just help our their own efforts.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/sheepdogs-used-to-guard-troubled-penguin-colony.php

Who knew? I like people less and less and animals more and more.

[flvegan]

1. Maremmas can be 100+ pounds and quite fierce.

Perfect dog for the job.

[hlthe2b]

2. ditto... loyalty, thy name is canine....

consistency, dependability, selflessness, intelligence, bravery, unconditional love.....what human can compare favorably?

[TexasObserver]

3. This story gets old, the sheep dog guarding troubled penguin tale.

Every day, it's the same old thing.

[HillWilliam]

4. I love my maremma-X babygirl

they are quite loyal to their "flock", whatever that flock happens to be.

Dog Breed Info

This club seems to be inactive, but the picture of a maremma cuddling a lamb at the top of the page is priceless. Our babiest likes to cuddle her stuffy-toys the same way.

Our Callie is mixed with collie (she has a collie head) but from the neck back, plus her attitude, she's all maremma.

[surrealAmerican]

5. Wow, your dog looks photoshopped.

When you say collie head on maremma body, you're not kidding. She's pretty, but the photo doesn't look real.

[HillWilliam]

6. If I didn't live with her, I'd agree

She's certainly a unique creature! In that pic we had to have her coat cut back. When we adopted her, she had been abused, what coat she had was a matted mess, she was starved, and basically a basket-case mess. A year later, she's got a glorious, thick maremma coat and her natural lanolin is taking over.

I don't have any really recent pics available online (guess I'd best get to uploading), but here's a link to some pics from last spring. She's filled out a lot since then and looks a lot more like a proper maremma from the neck back.

No, she's not photoshopped, she's a gen-ya-wine colliremma Callie-callie-calicocollie girl ("I'm the baby, I'm a princess, I'm a girl, and Iiiiii'm cute!!!!").