Where are the Wild Things?
By Brian Maxey CAL POLY NEWS In 1986, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and James Brown were the first inductees into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. That same year, the spacecraft Voyager 2 made its first Uranus flyby. That…
Man’s Best Friend Helps Find Elusive Endangered Orchid
Dogs are known for their powerful olfactory senses and have been used by humans over the years to detect objects from drugs to electronics to truffles. This sensory superpower makes them the star of a captivating project at Desert Botanical…
Decline of the Endangered Morro Bay Kangaroo Rat in California
The Morro Bay kangaroo rat Dipodomys heermanni morroensis occurs in the vicinity of Morro Bay (specifically in and near Los Osos) in western San Luis Obispo County in coastal central California. It was listed as endangered pursuant to the U.S.…
Ecological Scent Detection Dogs: On the Lookout for Western Pond Turtle Nests!
MVSD’s Moorhen Marsh, a 21-acre freshwater constructed wetland, is home to approximately 150 western pond turtles (WPT), including nesting turtles. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife considers the western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata)as a Species of Special Concern and…
Ecological Scent Detection: Sniffing out the Elusive Pima Pineapple Cactus
The usefulness of detection dogs to our society seems just to grow and grow. Detection dogs have been trained to find explosives, illegal drugs, currency, gourmet fungus, human remains, contraband electronics, firearms, termites, bed bugs, cancerous tumors and low blood…
Wildlife Scent Detection Dog Leads the Search for Elusive, Endangered Morro Bay Kangaroo Rat in San Luis Obispo County
Feature Story: Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office Last documented in 1986, the federally endangered Morro bay kangaroo rat has eluded biologists for more than three decades. While some in the conservation community believe this tiny native mammal may have gone…
