A crack team of specially trained dogs is bound for South Georgia tasked with ridding the sub-Antarctic island of its invasive rats. From left: Miriam Ritchie with Ahu, Rachel Morris and Jane Tansell with Will. Picture: Oliver Prince.

Dogs and their handlers aim to give South Georgia the rodent all-clear

For most people, walking the dog is an opportunity for a bit of fresh air and gentle exercise.

But for a team of 16 people hired by Dundee charity the South Georgia Trust there is a little bit more at stake – ensuring the sub-Antarctic island is free of rats so its natural wildlife can be restored.

Terriers Wai, Will and Ahu have been specially trained to search for rodents, predators that only arrived on South Georgia in the 18th Century as stowaways on sealing and whaling ships.

Because the island’s native wildlife evolved free from rodent predators, their arrival wreaked havoc on South Georgia’s ground-nesting and burrowing birds, in particular the pipit and pintail.

The trust started the world’s largest project to eradicate invasive species in 2011 in a bid to reverse the damage to the island’s wildlife.

Since the last extensive phase of baiting work in 2015, no sign of rodents has been detected and many bird species are already showing signs of recovery but a comprehensive survey is required before the island can officially be declared rodent-free.

The results of the survey will be announced in May.

With its complex terrain and unpredictable weather conditions, the island, a British Overseas Territory, is one of the most remote and inhospitable places on Earth.

The dogs and their two female handlers, Miriam Ritchie and Jane Tansell, have so far walked a total of 1,415 kilometres, with the dogs covering a total of 2,124km searching for signs of rats.

The distance will continue to mount as the monitoring survey progresses, but they have already surpassed the equivalent of the trek from Land’s End to John o’ Groats.

Miriam said: “The size of the survey area is vast and the dogs stay close to us, but of course they can detect smells from many metres away, so they help increase the range of what is actually covered on foot.

“They can also get to areas which are inaccessible to humans, such as nooks and crannies in the landscape, or within the former whaling stations.”

Miriam and Jane are experienced dog handlers from New Zealand and are used to working in remote environments.

Miriam said: “All three of the dogs have a lovely, calm temperament and are very quiet around birds.

“Their training is as much about ignoring other smells, as it is about recognising rodent odour.”

The field team, dubbed “Team Rat”, started the monitoring survey in October 2017, and the handlers and their dogs joined in December 2017.

The team has been using a combination of detection methods for the survey, so in addition to the detector dogs, they have also used special inert devices, such as chewsticks and camera traps.

Project director Dickie Hall said: “Following the baiting operation, there has been a remarkable and dramatic increase in the number and distribution of many bird species.

“The song of South Georgia pipits, the most southerly songbird, is now louder than the bark of elephant seals.

“However, this monitoring survey is essential before we can confidently declare South Georgia free of rodents.”

The size of the survey area is vast

Jane Tansell with the terriers which all have a calm temperament around birds.

Volunteers en route to South Georgia with the terrier team.

The dogs are trained to search for rodents.