John Rucker is the only professional dog-aided turtle tracker in the U.S., as far as he knows. The 73-year-old works with his team of six “superdogs” - which are all Boykin spaniels - to help universities, herpetologists and conservation groups that want to monitor turtle populations and their health.
Turtle tracking started out as a hobby, but as word of his skills spread in the scientific community, Rucker began getting more calls. After more than 20 years of doing it, he now sets off with a team of dogs in early spring and spends four months searching for box turtles, as their habitat is increasingly under threat from human development. And because the animals are camouflaged, they’re hard to find, which makes studying them a challenge, and that’s where Rucker and his dogs make a big difference.
He says he’s developed a “kinship” with turtles, who he calls “bona fide dinosaurs” living in the “chaos of the modern world.” Rucker says his relationship with his dogs is built on trust and respect and that “It’s all powered by love.” He plans to keep doing this work until his body won’t allow him to anymore. “I’m out to make the world aware of the plight of the turtles as their habitat is broken up and fragmented,” he says. “The more people know about box turtles, the more friends they have.”
Source: The Guardian