Handlers hope a mutt named Filson can sniff out a pollinator no one has seen in 15 years.
The quest to save a rare pollinator from extinction has just gained an unlikely ally: a mutt named Filson.
A six-year-old Australian cattle dog mix with black and tan fur and oversized ears, Filson will soon join the mission to find the endangered Franklin’s bumblebee (Bombus franklini). The fuzzy pollinator, which no one has observed in 15 years, became a federally protected species this summer.
A Nose for Science: Conservation Dogs May Help in Search for Endangered Franklin’s Bumblebee • The Revelator
The quest to save a rare pollinator from extinction has just gained an unlikely ally: a mutt named Filson.
A six-year-old Australian cattle dog mix with black and tan fur and oversized ears, Filson will soon join the mission to find the endangered Franklin’s bumblebee (Bombus franklini). The fuzzy pollinator, which no one has observed in 15 years, became a federally protected species this summer.
A Nose for Science: Conservation Dogs May Help in Search for Endangered Franklin’s Bumblebee • The Revelator